FECAL LACTOFERRIN, INTERLEUKIN-1-BETA, AND INTERLEUKIN-8 ARE ELEVATEDIN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE CLOSTRIDIUM-DIFFICILE COLITIS

Twenty-two patients with Clostridium difficile colitis as determined b y positive enzyme immunoassay for toxin A were evaluated for fecal inf lammatory markers and their relationship to the severity of illness. F ourteen of 22 specimens were positive for fecal lactoferrin (FLF), wit h titers from 1:50 to 1:800, Nine of 10 stools tested had ratios of in terleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) to IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) of > 0.01. Seventeen of 22 specimens also had elevated IL-8 concentrations, and 12 of 14 had elevated IL-1 beta concentrations. A review of the 1 8 available patient records revealed that fecal IL-8 concentrations, I L-1 beta/IL-1ra ratios, and FLF titers were significantly higher in pa tients with moderate to severe disease than in patients with mild dise ase. These findings suggest that the proinflammatory effects of C. dif ficile may directly influence clinical characteristics of human diseas e.