Objectives: To find out if interleukin 6 (IL-6) can be considered as a traumatic death marker or not (traumatic or non-traumatic).
Background: Trauma is considered as one of public health problems worldwide causing high morbidity and mortality in developed and developing areas in the worlds. A chest trauma is any state of physical force causing injury to the chest including the ribs, heart and lungs. Cytokines are regarded as important mediators in the pathological process of inflammation. In addition, chest trauma or trauma in general has no biological marker. Role of cytokines and its relation with trauma and injuries have not been researched satisfactorily.
Subject, material and methods: one hundred cadavers with chest trauma sent to Zeinhom governmental mortuary as well as non-traumatic dead cases died in Menoufia university hospital and blood samples tested for interleukin 6 level by interleukin – 6 ELIZA (enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay) kits, cases divided into group I (control healthy cases), group II (that divided into two subgroups; subgroup II a include non-traumatic dead cases except cases died from myocardial infarction (MI), subgroup II b includes non-traumatic cases died MI) and group III (traumatic chest injuries deaths).
Results: There is a highly significant difference between non-traumatic dead cases (not including MI cases) II a subgroup and traumatic dead cases III (P value < 0.001). As regarding to the mean of interleukin level it is higher in group III (58.3±20.6), it is above 3.5 folds as its value in non-traumatic dead cases (not including MI cases) II a subgroup (15.7±2.78). There is a highly significant difference between non-traumatic MI dead cases II b subgroup and traumatic dead cases III. As regarding to the mean of interleukin level, it is higher in group (58.3±20.6), it is above 3.5 folds as its value in non-traumatic MI dead cases-b subgroup (15.3±2.61).
Conclusion: it is revealed that definitely IL6 is closely associated and increased with traumatic injury and can be considered as a trauma biomarker.