Association of non-thyroidal illness syndrome with interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 in critically ill children with sepsis

Abstract:

Objective To study the incidence rate of non-thyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS) in critically ill children with or without sepsis and the association of NTIS with interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-10 (IL-10). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 97 children with sepsis (sepsis group) and 80 non-sepsis children with bacterial infection (non-sepsis group). The correlations of IL-6 and IL-10 with the thyroid function parameters triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were analyzed. Results There were no significant differences in age and sex between the sepsis and non-sepsis groups (P > 0.05). Compared with the non-sepsis group, the sepsis group had a significantly higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, a significantly longer length of hospital stay, and a significantly higher rate of use of ventilator (P < 0.05). As for inflammation markers, the sepsis group had significantly higher levels of C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, and IL-6 than the non-sepsis group (P < 0.05). As for thyroid function parameters, the sepsis group had significantly lower levels of T3, T4, free T3, free T4, and TSH than the non-sepsis group (P < 0.05). Compared with the non-sepsis group, the sepsis group had significantly higher incidence rates of NTIS, low T3 and T4, and low TSH (P < 0.001). The correlation analysis revealed that IL-6 level was not correlated with T3, T4, and TSH levels in children with or without sepsis (P > 0.05), but the pooled analysis of the two groups showed that IL-6 level was negatively correlated with T3 and T4 levels (P < 0.001). Conclusions Children with sepsis have a higher incidence rate of NTIS than those without sepsis. The high level of IL-6 may be associated with the development of NTIS.