Figure 1
From: Intramedullary nailing of the femur and the systemic activation of monocytes and neutrophils
Plasma IL-6 levels. Multitrauma patients demonstrated increased levels of plasma IL-6 compared to patients with isolated femur fracture (P = 0.018) or matched controls (P = 0.005). Pre-operative IL-6 levels ("black square") were significantly increased in patients who developed respiratory failure (P < 0.001). Eighteen hours after intramedullary nailing ("open triangle"), plasma IL-6 levels were significantly increased in patients with isolated femur fractures (P = 0.030), but not in multitrauma patients (P = 0.515), which could be due to insufficient power.