Table 4. Evolution of the acute-phase proteins and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in operated patients with and without infection. Data are expressed as means and 95% confidence intervals, with repeated-measurement analysis of variance (ANOVA) using length of stay as a covariable.
| Variable | Infection | p (within groups) | p (between groups) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | ||||
| C-reactive protein (mg/l) | |||||
| Basal | 3.3 (1.5-5.1) | 2.0 (0.3-3.7) | |||
| 2nd POD | 28.7 (26.4-31.1) | 20.3 (18.1-22.6) | < 0.001 | < 0.001 | |
| 5th POD | 19.3 (14.9-23.6 | 9.6 (5.4-13.7) | |||
| Prealbumin (mg/dl) | |||||
| Basal | 10.9 (6.9-15.0) | 16.8 (12.8-20.9) | |||
| 2nd POD | 7.7 (5.8-9.7) | 10.4 (8.5-12.4) | 0.08 | 0.06 | |
| 5th POD | 8.6 (5.3-11.9) | 13.0 (9.7-16.3) | |||
| Albumin (g/dl) | |||||
| Basal | 2.5 (2.0-3.1) | 3.2 (2.7-3.8) | |||
| 2nd POD | 2.2 (1.8-2.6) | 2.6 (2.1-3.0) | 0.14 | 0.20 | |
| 5th POD | 2.4 (2.1-2.8) | 2.9 (2.5-3.3) | |||
| Transferrin (mg/dl) | |||||
| Basal | 139.5 (105.7-173.4) | 181.8 (147.9-215.7) | |||
| 2nd POD | 126.0 (107.3-144.7) | 135.6 (116.9-154.3) | 0.13 | 0.39 | |
| 5th POD | 128.7 (102.9-154.6) | 154.1 (128.2-179.9) | |||
| IL-6 (pg/dl) | |||||
| Basal | 13.2 (-3.9-30.1) | 12.5 (5.4-19.6) | |||
| 2nd POD | 214.5 (77.7-351.3) | 54.0 (20.8-87.1) | 0.02 | 0.03 | |
| 5th POD | 119.3 (3.9-234.7) | 13.3 (-71-97) | |||
POD = postoperative day.