IL-7 and procalcitonin are useful biomarkers in the comprehensive evaluation of the severity of acute cholangitis.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of biliary tract infection (BTI), especially healthcare-associated cholangitis, is increasing. However, there are few reports concerning biomarkers of acute cholangitis. We therefore performed an exhaustive investigation of several biomarkers.

METHODS: We retrospectively measured 11 cytokines, six chemokines and procalcitonin (PCT), and endotoxin activity assay (EAA) values (IRB: 110512019) of 61 samples with acute cholangitis.

RESULT: The 28-day mortality rate was 9.8%. The levels of most cytokines and chemokines were significantly correlated with each other. A low IL-7 level was found to predict blood culture positivity. Low IL-7 level was also found to predict disseminated intravascular coagulation. Low IL-7 levels and a high PCT level were found to be predictors of severe cholangitis. The 28-day mortality in the group of patients with an IL-7 level of ≤6.0 and a PCT level of >0.5 was 18.2%. It was significantly higher than in the other group.

CONCLUSION: The combined use of IL-7 and PCT may be useful for evaluating severe acute cholangitis; these results may suggest that severe acute cholangitis is affected by immunosuppressive changes.