CORR Insights^®: Role of Interleukin-6 as an Early Marker of Fat Embolism Syndrome: A Clinical Study

Excerpt

In the paper, “Role of Interleukin-6 as an Early Marker of Fat Embolism Syndrome: A Clinical Study,” the authors find a clear association between a spike in serum IL-6 level 12 hours after admission for extremity fractures and the development of what they define as fat embolism syndrome (FES). Il-6 has been shown to be among a group of cytokines that are expressed after trauma and can be associated with the development of lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). IL-6 has been shown to correlate with the severity of injury and the development of FES in animal models [2]. To date the exact role of IL-6 in the pathogenesis of FES in humans has not been determined. To explore the role of IL-6 in the development of FES in humans, the authors selected a small group from a very large volume of admitted patients to study only young healthy subjects with apparently only skeletal injuries. They aimed to eliminate factors that would confuse the diagnosis of FES. They diagnosed FES in 14 of 48 patients using Gurd’s criteria, and found that the mean IL-6 peak at 12 hours in these patients was approximately double that of the patients who did not have FES develop. This difference was significant. …