Peritoneal and systemic cytokine response to laparotomy

Abstract Cytokines are polypeptides produced mainly by activated leucocytes in response to infection and injury, including surgical trauma. Several reports have described the systemic cytokine response to a surgical operation, some of them in a sequential way1,2. This study was designed to determine the peritoneal and systemic cytokine response to elective abdominal surgery during the first 72 h after operation.