Abstract: Objective  To explore the clinical significance of detection of serum IL-6，IL-8 and TNF-α in patients with active tuberculosis(TB).  Methods  Seventy-one new TB patients (active TB group) and 21 TB patients who was diagnosed as TB and finished treatment (control group) in The Fifth People’s Hospital of Suzhou from September 2012 to June 2013 were enrolled. The serum contents of IL-6，IL-8 and TNF-α were examined using ELISA assay. SPSS 13.0 was used for data analysis. Median and interquartile range were used to describe numerical data. Wilcoxon rank testing was used for comparison between groups and Chi-square test was applied to compare categorical data. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results (1) The medians of TNF-α in active TB group and control group were 11.5 pg/ml and 8.8 pg/ml respectively, and the interquartile ranges (P₂₅，P₇₅) were (9.6 pg/ml, 14.7 pg/ml) and (7.6 pg/ml, 11.2 pg/ml), respectively. There was a significance difference between the two groups (U=369.5, P<0.001). (2) The medians of IL-6 in active TB group and control group were 7.8 pg/ml and 2.0 pg/ml, respectively, and the interquartile ranges (P₂₅，P₇₅) were (3.1 pg/ml, 15.9 pg/ml) and (1.5 pg/ml, 5.4 pg/ml), respectively. The difference between the two groups was statistical significant (U=389.5, P=0.001). (3) The medians of IL-8 in active TB group and control group were 8 pg/ml and 8 pg/ml, respectively, and the interquartile ranges (P₂₅，P₇₅) were (5 pg/ml, 15 pg/ml) and (6.5 pg/ml, 13 pg/ml), respectively. There was no significance difference between the two groups (U=731.5, P=0.896). Conclusion The serum TNF-α and IL-6 in the development of active TB changes in a wide range, and the detection of TNF-α and IL-6 may help to determine the progress of active TB.

Key words: Tuberculosis, pulmonary/blood, Interleukin-6, Interleukin-8, Tumor necrosis factor-alpha