High IL-6 and VEGF-A levels correlate with delayed wound healing in cervical lymph node tuberculosis patients

SETTING: A high proportion of tuberculosis (TB) patients experience delayed wound healing after surgery, and the specific reasons for this phenomenon are not yet clear. OBJECTIVE: To analyse cytokine and growth factors at surgical sites to determine their contribution to delayed wound healing in patients with cervical lymph node TB (CLNT). DESIGN: We measured levels of interleukin (IL) 1 beta, IL-6, IL-10, IL-22, epidermal growth factor, fibroblast growth factor-2, interferon-gamma, tumour necrosis factor alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in cervical wound drainage fluid from 36 CLNT patients who underwent lymphadenectomy and in 24 thyroidectomy patients. RESULTS: Wound drainage fluid from CLNT patients showed higher IL-6 (P = 0.007) and VEGF-A (P < 0.001) levels than control thyroidectomy patients (P < 0.05). CLNT patients with a delayed healing time (>5 days; n= 18) showed higher IL-6 (P=0.002) and VEGF-A (P < 0.001) levels in wound drainage fluid than CLNT patients with normal healing times (<= 5 days; n = 18). IL-6 (OR 11.280, 95%CI 1.413-90.028; P=0.022) and VEGF-A (OR 13.510, 95%CI 2.168-84.182; P = 0.005) can independently and significantly predict wound healing time in CLNT patients. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate that high IL-6 and VEGF-A levels in the post-operative wound fluid of CLNT patients correlate with delayed wound healing.