Inflammatory markers in saliva for diagnosis of sepsis of hospitalizes patients

Background Inflammatory/immunological serum markers are useful for the early detection of organ dysfunction, helping the diagnosis of sepsis. Although the detection of blood biomarkers is a standard practice, the use of noninvasive samples (eg saliva) would be beneficial. Aim To investigate the saliva of hospitalized patients with and without sepsis and identify the levels of inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and nitric oxide (NO). Methods Saliva samples were collected from 26 patients in intensive care unit with diagnosis of sepsis and from 26 without sepsis (control). The levels of CRP were determined by using latex agglutination test, whereas those of procalcitonin and IL-6 by ELISA and NO by the Griess reaction. Results Of 26 patients with sepsis, 14 were males (54%) with a mean age of 63.81 ± 3.48 years. The control group had the same distribution for gender, with mean age 65.04 ± 4.07 years. Sepsis group showed higher salivary concentrations of CRP, PCT, IL-6 and NO, with only levels of IL-6 being statistically different (P = .0001). Conclusions Patients with sepsis had significantly higher levels of IL-6 in their saliva, suggesting that this biological sample could be useful in the diagnosis of this condition.