IL-27 as a potential biomarker for distinguishing between necrotising enterocolitis and highly suspected early-onset food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome with abdominal gas signs
Yuhong Qi,
Chan Liu,
Xin Zhong,
Xueling Ma,
Jie Zhou,
Yuan Shi,
Yibing Yin,
Xuemei Zhang,
Yu He,
Wenchun Xu
Affiliations
Yuhong Qi
Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, China
Chan Liu
Department of Neonatology, National Clinical Research Centre for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
Xin Zhong
Department of Neonatology, National Clinical Research Centre for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
Xueling Ma
Department of Neonatology, National Clinical Research Centre for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
Jie Zhou
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, National Clinical Research Centre for Child Health and Disorders, China International Science and Technology Cooperation base of Child development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
Yuan Shi
Department of Neonatology, National Clinical Research Centre for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
Yibing Yin
Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, China
Xuemei Zhang
Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, China
Yu He
Department of Neonatology, National Clinical Research Centre for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China; Corresponding authors.
Wenchun Xu
Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, China; Corresponding authors.
Background: The initial clinical manifestations and abdominal imaging findings of neonates with necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) and food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) are sometimes similar; however, their prognosis and therapies are different. We aimed to evaluate the utility of interleukin (IL)-27 as a differentiation marker between NEC and highly suspected early onset (HSEO)-FPIES. Methods: All samples used in this study were obtained from the neonatal diagnosis centre of Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. In the case-control study, neonates with NEC (n = 13), HSEO-FPIES (n = 9), and jaundice (control, n = 8) were enroled to determine the serum IL-27 levels using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. In the validation cohort study, the NEC (n = 87), HSEO-FPIES (n = 62), and jaundice (control, n = 54) groups were included to analyse the diagnostic efficiency of IL-27 for discriminating between NEC and HSEO-FPIES using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Findings: In the case-control study, IL-27 levels were higher in the NEC group than in the HSEO-FPIES group (p = 0·005). In the cohort study, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of IL-27 for differentiating NEC from HSEO-FPIES was 0·878, which was higher than the AUCs of IL-6 (0·761), C-reactive protein (0·800), white blood cell count (0·637), neutrophils (0·765), lymphocytes (0·782), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (0·781), and platelet count (0·729). Interpretation: Serum IL-27 is a novel biomarker that may potentially discriminate NEC from HSEO-FPIES in neonates. Funding: None.
