Interleukin-8 is increased in gingival crevicular fluid from patients with acute pulpitis

Irreversibly inflamed pulp (IIP) constitutes both a pathophysiologic and a diagnostic challenge. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) samples were obtained with Periopaper strips from IIP and adjacent and contralateral teeth for interleukin-8 (CXCL8) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) measurements. Pain intensity was reported by using a verbal numeric scale (1-10). TNF-alpha (n = 25) was not detectable in GCF, whereas CXCL8 (n 17) was significantly greater in IIP (302.1 +/- 164.9 pg/mL) compared with adjacent (139 +/- 138.58 pg/mL; P = .0072) or contralateral (1173.8 +/- 166.4 pg/mL; P = .0231) teeth. A subgroup of high pain (>5) patients (n = 7) had CXCL8 IIP levels (323.6 +/- 148.4 pg/mL) that were significantly different from the contralateral teeth (P = .0262); however, they did not differ from the adjacent teeth (P = .1649), suggesting that neighboring teeth might also have inflammation. Another group of patients (n = 7) who had received local anesthesia before sampling had very low IIP CXCL8 levels. GCF CXCL8 levels might be a useful measurement for staging patients with acute pulpitis.