Objective 

To test the hypothesis that significantly higher concentrations of interleukin-8 (IL-8) are found in the pulmonary edema fluid and plasma of patients with a septic vs. a nonseptic etiology of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Design 

Prospective measurement of IL-8 concentrations in previously collected edema fluid and plasma.

Setting 

Adult intensive care units at a university medical center.

Patients 

There were 27 patients with ARDS (16 patients with a septic etiology and nine patients with a nonseptic etiology) plus eight control patients with hydrostatic pulmonary edema.

Measurements and Main Results 

IL-8 was present in the pulmonary edema fluid of all patients with ARDS, but the median IL-8 concentration was higher in the edema fluid of patients with ARDS associated with sepsis (84.2 ng/mL, n = 16) compared with the ARDS patients without sepsis (14.8 ng/mL, n = 11) (p < .05). In patients with cardiogenic edema, IL-8 concentration (5.0 ng/mL, n = 8, p < .05) was significantly lower than those values in patients with ARDS. Median plasma concentration of IL-8 was increased in septic individuals (1.3 ng/mL), but these concentrations were not significantly higher than in patients with a nonseptic etiology of ARDS (0.35 ng/mL) (p = .14) or those patients with cardiac failure (0.21 ng/mL).

Conclusions 

The high concentrations of IL-8 in pulmonary edema fluid, coupled with the relatively low concentrations of IL-8 in the plasma, suggest that the lung was the primary source of IL-8 in the patients with ARDS. The markedly increased concentrations of IL-8 in the pulmonary edema fluid of patients with ARDS from sepsis suggests that this group of patients may be particularly suitable for potential trials directed at inhibiting the activity of this important chemokine.

(Crit Care Med 1996; 24:1448-1454)