Table 1. Main markers of inflammation in the polytrauma patient ²⁵ .

Phase	Marker	Principal function	Peak
Acute phase reactants	Protein-bound lipopolysaccharide (LPB)	Activation of macrophages to release IL-6 and IL-1	48 -72 hours
	C-reactive protein (CRP)	Low specificity in trauma since it is increased in the presence of infections, cancer, and autoimmune diseases	Levels up to 500 mg in 8 hours
	Procalcitonin (PCT)	Produced by stimulation of IL-6. Low specificity in trauma, indicates more presence of infection	48-72 hours
Mediator activity markers	Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNF- α)	It is one of the central regulators since it is required for leukocyte chemotaxis. If persist elevated, it is an indicator of a poor prognosis.	24-48 hours
	IL- 1 and IL- 8	Its presence is essential in the initial phase for adequate inflammatory activation. If persist elevated, it is an indicator of a poor prognosis and mortality.	24-48 hours
	IL-6	The appearance of (LPB) occurs secondary.	4 hours (indicates the severity of trauma 24 hours
	IL -10	Powerful anti-inflammatory in response to increased TNF-α. In homeostasis with TNF-α improves prognosis.	> 72 hours
Cell activity markers	Cytokine receptors	They are a good indicators of inflammatory response severity because of their specificity for TNF-α and interleukins. Specific for interleukin inhibit cell transduction.	> 72 hours
	Elastase	Released by neutrophils. Its elevation is associated with increased mortality and multiple organ failure.
	Human leukocyte antigen (HLA-DR)	It is the marker with the highest validity to correlate with morbidity and mortality