METHODS: Samples of pulpal blood from adults with mature teeth responsive to pulp testing and have carious pulp exposures were obtained. These samples were analyzed for 12 inflammatory cytokines and other inflammatory proteins using the Luminex assay platform. Clinical factors were correlated with cytokine levels, and statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of these factors on cytokine expression.
RESULTS: Of the 36 patients that were included, 44.44% took pain medications, 33.33% had prolonged pulpal bleeding, 41.67% felt spontaneous pain, and 72.22% were diagnosed with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Significant correlations existed between presenting pain scores and levels of interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-6, and IL-8 (P < .05). Factors like analgesic medication intake, pain to percussion, pain to thermal testing, spontaneous pain, and nocturnal pain were significantly associated with higher levels of specific inflammatory proteins. No significant associations were observed with pain to palpation, bleeding time, or pulpal diagnosis.
CONCLUSIONS: Inflammatory proteins, including cytokine levels may play a critical role in characterizing pulpal inflammation. Future studies should investigate the role of these potential biomarkers in determining the diagnosis of pulpitis and the prognosis of vital pulp therapy.
方法:从成熟牙齿对牙髓测试有反应并有龋齿牙髓暴露的成年人中获取牙髓血样。使用Luminex测定平台分析这些样品的12种炎性细胞因子和其他炎性蛋白。临床因素与细胞因子水平相关,并进行统计学分析以评估这些因素对细胞因子表达的影响。
结果:纳入的36例患者中,44.44%服用止痛药,33.33%的牙髓出血时间延长,41.67%感到自发性疼痛,72.22%被诊断为有症状的不可逆性牙髓炎。疼痛评分与IL-1α水平存在显著相关性,IL-6、IL-8(P<0.05)。镇痛药物的摄入等因素,敲击疼痛,热测试疼痛,自发性疼痛,夜间疼痛与特定炎症蛋白水平显著相关。没有观察到疼痛与触诊的显著关联,出血时间,或牙髓诊断。
结论:炎症蛋白,包括细胞因子水平可能在表征牙髓炎症中起关键作用。未来的研究应该研究这些潜在的生物标志物在确定牙髓炎的诊断和重要牙髓治疗的预后中的作用。