IL-15 is elevated in the patients of postoperative enterocolitis

Serum interleukin 15 (IL-15) levels mere measured in 77 patients who were c onsecutively admitted to our intensive care unit. Postoperative enterocolit is occurred in four patients and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureu s (MRSA), but not Clostridium defficile, was identified in the faecal speci mens from these patients. The IL-15 levels in the patients with MRSA entero colitis were significantly elevated compared with those of other MRSA infec tions without enterocolitis including pneumonia (n=6) and cholangitis (n=1) and other MRSA non-colonized patients (n=66) (21.2 +/- 5.2 pg/ml vs 4.3 +/ - 0.2, 4.3 +/- 0.5). Notably, an increase in serum IL-15 was observed just before clinical manifestation of severe diarrhoea, Our findings suggest tha t IL-15 may be associated in the pathogenesis of postoperative enterocoliti s and its serum level may be a severity indicator of the disease.