[Interleukin-6 as a biochemical marker of intestinal anastomotic leakage].

Objective: To evaluate diagnostic significance of IL-6 compared to CRP for early detection of anastomotic leakage after colon resection for colorectal cancer.

Material and methods: The study included 277 patients who underwent total resection for colorectal cancer. Patients were retrospectively divided into three groups: without complications (n=227), with anastomotic leakage (n=30), and other postoperative complications (n=20). CRP and IL-6 were measured daily for 5 postoperative days. Dynamics of markers and their diagnostic significance were estimated using ROC analysis.

Results: Serum IL-6 in patients with anastomotic leakage reached significant values after 2 postoperative days (AUC=0.872, cut-off=51.2 pg/ml, sensitivity 79.3%, specificity 89.1%) and maximum after 3 days (AUC=0.949, cut-off=66.4 pg/ml, sensitivity 80.0%, specificity 96.8%). CRP demonstrated diagnostically significant values after 3-4 days (AUC=0.875 after 3 days and 0.926 after 4 days). Dynamics of IL-6 after intervention for anastomotic leakage indicated advisability of this marker to assess the quality of abdominal debridement.

Conclusion: IL-6 is a perspective early marker of anastomotic leakage with high sensitivity and specificity after 2 days. This significantly reduces the diagnostic time compared to CRP. IL-6 can optimize postoperative management of patients contributing to early detection of complications and timely intervention.