Konjenital kalp cerrahisi geçiren pediatrik hastalarda interlökin 40 (IL-40) ve tiyol/disülfit dengesinin araştırılması

Interleukin-40 (IL-40) levels and the Thiol-Disulfide balance are considered indicators of inflammation and oxidative stress. While the Thiol-Disulfide balance has been extensively studied in cardiovascular diseases, the role of IL-40 in heart conditions remains unclear and represents a promising area for future research. This study aimed to evaluate preoperative and postoperative IL-40 levels and Thiol-Disulfide homeostasis in pediatric patients undergoing congenital heart surgery and to compare the results with those of a healthy control group. In our study, venous blood samples were collected from 40 pediatric patients diagnosed with congenital heart disease before and 24 hours after open-heart surgery. The control group consisted of 40 healthy children with no known systemic disease. Plasma IL-40 levels were measured using the ELISA method, while Thiol-Disulfide parameters were analyzed spectrophotometrically. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0, and a p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Compared to the control group, IL-40 levels were significantly lower in the patient group (p<0.001). Although postoperative IL-40 levels were higher than preoperative levels, this increase was not statistically significant (p=0.066). Native Thiol and total Thiol levels showed a significant increase after surgery (p=0.001 and p=0.023, respectively), whereas Disulfide levels did not differ significantly between the pre- and postoperative periods (p=0.908). In both preoperative and postoperative phases, Thiol levels in the patient group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p<0.05). In conclusion, the changes observed in IL-40 and Thiol-Disulfide parameters in pediatric patients undergoing congenital heart surgery reflect the inflammatory and oxidative stress responses triggered by cardiopulmonary bypass. In particular, the postoperative increase in Thiol levels suggests mobilization of antioxidant Thiol groups in response to surgical oxidative stress. Therefore, IL-40 and Thiol-Disulfide homeostasis may serve as potential biomarkers in pediatric cardiac surgery. Although there are no studies on the association between IL-40 and inflammation after congenital heart surgery, this study is one of the first to examine IL-40 dynamics in pediatric patients. However, further studies are needed to better understand the role of IL-40 in the surgical context. Keywords: Congenital heart disease, pediatric cardiopulmonary bypass, IL-40, Thiol-Disulfide balance, oxidative stress, inflammation