Assessment of cord blood IL-6 levels as an indicator of neonatal sepsis

Based on the recognition that interleukin-6 (IL-6) is produced early in inf ection, IL-6 determinations have been used to identify infants with early o nset bacterial sepsis. This study intended to assess the value of IL-6 in m aternal, cord and infant peripheral blood as an index of sepsis, and examin e the relationships of its values in mother and infants. The population con sisted of 17 mother/infant pairs at high risk for neonatal infection. Eight of these infants had clinical signs of possible sepsis. Cord blood IL-6 le vels in infants of mothers considered to be noninfected were lower than tho se born to women with chorioamnionitis. There was also a positive correlati on between maternal and cord blood IL-6 values. There were no differences i n maternal blood IL-6, whether they had infections or not. Also, peripheral infant blood obtained after birth did not differentiate between those born to women with or without chorioamnionitis, nor did it correlate with mater nal blood IL-6 levels. Clinical symptoms of the infants did not correlate w ith either cord or peripheral blood IL-6 values. Although maternal prepartu m treatment with antibiotics and/or steroids may influence their own and th eir infants' blood IL-6 levels, there is insufficient evidence to consider low infant blood IL-6 level a reliable predictor to rule out early newborn sepsis.