The Synergistic Role Of IL-8 And Serum C-Reactive Protein Levels in The Diagnosis of Helicobacter Pylori Infection
Keywords:
Interleukin-8, CRP, H. pylori, AUC, Sensitivity, SpecificityAbstract
Helicobacter pylori infection is one of the most frequently and globally emerged chronic bacterial infections and is strongly correlation with , peptic ulcer, gastritis, and gastric malignancies. The host inflammatory response plays a pivotal role in disease pathogenesis, highlighting the need for reliable non-invasive biomarkers to aid diagnosis. This study aims to investigate the diagnostic power of serum interleukin-8 (IL-8) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, individually and in combination, for the detection of H. pylori infection. A case–control study was conducted including 78 patients with confirmed H. pylori infection and 62 apparently healthy controls. Serum IL-8 levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while CRP concentrations were determined by standard immunoturbidimetric methods. Differences between groups were assessed using independent samples t-tests, and the relationship between IL-8 and CRP was evaluated using Pearson correlation analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to investigate the diagnostic performance of each biomarker. Patients with H. pylori infection exhibited significantly higher serum IL-8 levels (72.4 ± 18.6 pg/mL) compared with controls (58.1 ± 15.2 pg/mL; P < 0.02). Similarly, CRP concentrations were significantly elevated in patients (4.8 ± 1.6 pg/mL) relative to controls (3.6 ± 1.3 pg/mL; P < 0.04). A moderate positive correlation was observed between IL-8 and CRP levels (r = 0.49, P < 0.001). ROC analysis revealed that IL-8 demonstrated superior diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.78) compared to CRP (AUC = 0.71). At an optimal cut-off value of 65.0 pg/mL, IL-8 yielded a sensitivity of 74.4% and specificity of 71.0%. These findings indicate that both IL-8 and CRP are significantly associated with H. pylori infection and that their combined assessment may enhance diagnostic accuracy. The results support the potential role of IL-8 and CRP as complementary, non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis of H. pylori-associated inflammation.
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