Ratio between the number of Th1 and Th2 lymphocytes in the peripheral blood and concentration of proinflammatory cytokines in lochia of women with postpartum endometritis.

We estimated the percentage of CD4+ lymphocytes synthesizing IFN-gamma and IL-4 in the peripheral blood and measured the concentrations of IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-alpha in lochia of patients with postpartum endometritis. T lymphocytes with intracellular IFN-gamma prevailed in women with physiological course of the postpartum period. The number of cells containing IL-4 increased in patients with postpartum endometritis. On days 5-7 after childbirth the concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and TNF-alpha in lochia of these patients were higher than in healthy postpartum women (by 1.4 and 2.7 times, respectively). The concentrations of cytokines IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 increased most significantly in patients with postpartum endometritis and active viral infection (by 3.4, 4.2, and 1.6 times, respectively).