ROLE OF INTERLEUKIN-8 IN PREDICTING ENDOMETRIOSIS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN & INFERTILITY

To find out the levels of IL-8 in patients of chronic pelvic pain & infertility & assess its role in predicting endometriosis. It was a prospective study conducted over 50 patients of chronic pelvic pain & infertility undergoing diagnostic laparoscopy. During this procedure peritoneal fluid &blood samples were collected & prepared for ELISA, IL-8 estimation. Serum IL-8 levels of >22.16 pg/ml& peritoneal fluid level of >7.98 pg/ml were found to be 100% sensitive & specific .Thus they can be taken as cut-off value for predicting endometriosis. IL-8 was significantly elevated in the serum & peritoneal fluid in the patients of endometriosis diagnosed by diagnostic laparoscopy. Our study indicates that serum & peritoneal fluid IL-8 levels can discriminate patients with& without endometriosis and could serve as one of the non-invasive ideal markers to cut short the delay in the diagnosis & management of infertility and also lays down a foundation for further research in correlating IL-8 levels with disease severity