Peritoneal fluid interleukin-6 in women with chronic pelvic pain

Objective: To determine the relationship between peritoneal fluid concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and chronic pelvic pain symptomatology in women with adhesions, endometriosis, or no obvious intraperitoneal pathology. Design: Clinical research study. Setting: Wealthy volunteers in an academic research environment. Patient(s): Reproductive-aged women undergoing laparoscopy for the diagnosis of pelvic pain, infertility, or sterilization were selected. Intervention(s): Peritoneal fluid was collected at the time of the laparoscopy and later assayed for IL-6. Subjects completed a pelvic pain questionnaire, and operative reports were used to obtain the underlying diagnosis. Main Outcome Measure(s): Interleukin-6 concentrations. Result(s): No correlation between the presence or absence of pelvic pain, findings of adhesions or endometriosis, and the concentration of peritoneal fluid IL-6 was observed. Conclusion(s): The cytokine IL-6 does not seem to play a role in the genesis of chronic pelvic pain in women with adhesions or endometriosis. (C)2000 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.