Renal
infection and
scarring are the leading causes of
end stage renal disease [
ESRD] in some parts of the world [e.g.
Iran]. Urinary
interleukins [IL] 1 and 6 have been reported to be high in acute
pyelonephritis in previous studies. This study was performed to determine the relation between IL 1 and 6 levels in the presence of acute
pyelonephritis and the relation between the amount of these
cytokines and the severity of
pyelonephritis by
dimercaptosuccinic acid [
DMSA] scan.
Children ages 1 month to 12 years
who were admitted to the
nephrology ward of Mofid
Children's
Hospital for
pyelonephritis from January to July 2004 were enrolled in the study.
Interleukins 1 and 6 and
creatinine were measured in 80 random
urine samples of 37
patients [81%
female] with acute
pyelonephritis and 43 healthy
children [81%
female]. Urinary
cytokines were measured by
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay [
ELISA] and
creatinine by
spectrophotometry methods and recorded in microgram per mg of
creatinine.
Pyelonephritis was confirmed by positive
urine culture and/or
DMSA scan in all
patients using
SPECT apparatus. Data were analyzed by paired
student t test and differences considered significant if p<0.05. Mean
interleukin 1/
creatinine [IL 1/Cr] ratio in
patients with
pyelonephritis was 0.70 +/- 0.96 [range 0.02-5.08] and in healthy
children was 0.04 +/- 0.12 [range 0-0.51]. Mean
interleukin 6/
creatinine [IL 6/Cr] ratio in
patients with
pyelonephritis was 4.80 +/- 10.06 [range 0.01-44.74] and in healthy
children was 0.15 +/- 0.37 [range 0-2.32]. There were significantly higher levels of urinary
IL-1 and
IL-6 in
children with
pyelonephritis than healthy
children, but we didn't find any significant relationship between urinary
interleukin levels and other
parameters such as
pyuria, ESR, CRP and different grades of renal involvement in
DMSA scans