• C Silva-Mejías, F Gamboa-Antiñolo, L F López-Cortés, M Cruz-Ruiz, and J Pachón.
• Infectious Diseases Unit, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain.
• Chest. 1995 Oct 1;108(4):942-5.

Study ObjectivesTo measure interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) levels in pleural effusions of different etiologies and their relationship with several pleural inflammatory parameters, and to verify whether IL-1 beta can be used as diagnostic marker in the differential diagnosis of pleural diseases.Material And MethodOne hundred two pleural effusions were analyzed using a monoclonal antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Pleural fluids were classified as follows: transudates (n = 28), empyema (n = 14), parapneumonic (n = 13), tuberculous (n = 19), neoplastic (n = 17), and miscellaneous effusions (n = 11).ResultsIL-1 beta was above 200 pg/mL in all the patients with empyema but only in three patients with other etiologies. Two of those three had parapneumonic effusions and the remaining one had a tuberculous pleurisy with a previous bacterial empyema. No significant relationships were found between pleural effusion IL-1 beta levels and the different inflammatory parameters analyzed. As a diagnostic criterion for empyema, pleural IL-1 beta concentration greater than 200 pg/mL had a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 96%, and a positive and negative predictive value of 0.82 and 1, respectively.ConclusionsOur data suggest that IL-1 beta has a significant role in pyogenic infections of the pleural space but not in effusions of other etiologies. It could be used as a diagnostic marker of empyema.

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