Responses of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor during and after cardiac surgery undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass and pancreatoduodenectomy.

To evaluate the effect of cardiopulmonary bypass on immunological function, we measured interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in 12 patients undergoing cardiac surgery during and after cardiopulmonary bypass, and in 10 patients with pancreatoduodenectomy. Plasma IL-6 levels were determined using the Human Interleukin 6 ELISA Kit, and TNF levels were determined using a highly sensitive sandwich enzyme immunoassay. In patients with cardiac surgery, plasma levels of IL-6 and TNF increased during cardiopulmonary bypass, and in patients with pancreatoduodenectomy, IL-6 and TNF levels significantly increased at the end of intraabdominal manipulation. These results suggest that endotoxin may have activated the immune system and stimulated cytokine production after pancreatoduodenectomy and during bypass.