Document Type : Short Paper

Authors

1 Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery

2 Immunology Research Center

3 Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifer

4 Prevention Research Center

5 Immunology Research Center, Midwifery Student

6 Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Background: Preterm birth is a common problem in obstetrics.
Objective: To measure maternal serum interlukin-6 in mothers with preterm uterine contractions and compare it with cervicovaginal interlukin-6 in the same women.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we measured interlukin-6 in the sera and cervicovaginal fluids of 86 women with preterm uterine contractions. All participants had an intact membrane. Interlukin-6 was measured by using ELISA method. Statistical analysis was done using U-Mann Whitney, Chi-Square and Kendall’s tests. Results: The mean and median (Quartile25, Quartile75) of interlukin-6 in cervicovaginal fluid was higher than maternal serum interlukin-6. There was a statically significant difference in the median of interlukin-6 in sera and cervicovaginal fluid (P<0.0001).  There was no significant correlation between serum and cervicovaginal interlukin-6 (r=0.048, p=0.548).
Conclusion: There was no significant correlation between serum and cervicovaginal interlukin-6 (r=0.048, p=0.548). Conclusion: We found no relationship between serum interlukin-6 and preterm labor and the maternal serum Interlukin-6 does not seem to be a suitable biomarker for predicting preterm delivery.

Keywords