Association between Enterococcus faecalis and Inflammatory Markers

Autori

  • Asmaa Thamer Ali Ministry of Education/Al-Kawn secondary school/Iraq
  • Hiyam Adnan Ali
  • Juman Oday Sabri
  • Kazem Mehdi Kazem

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/d3000.2026.1454

Parole chiave:

C-reactive Protein, Enterococcus faecalis, Interleukin 8, Apical Periodontitis

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine salivary IL-8, sIgA, and CRP levels in relation to E. faecalis among patients with a refractory root canal infection. This prospective case-control study was conducted between January and March 2026 and included 150 participants with 100 individuals having symptoms of continued root canal infection, and 50 healthy controls. During retreatment, root canals were sampled aseptically, and microbiological assessment was performed using the VITEK 2 Compact system. We analyzed salivary samples for IL-8 and sIgA and measured serum levels of CRP by standardized immunoassays. Enterococcus faecalis was the most frequent bacterial isolate and was present in 42% of chronic infections. Clinical and radiographic changes of patients with E. faecalis were more severe than that of patients negative for E. faecalis [greater pain (74.2% vs. 39.8%), and greater radiographic lesion size (57.6% vs. 31.7%)]. Moreover, the E. faecalis-positive group had significant higher salivary levels of IL-8, sIgA, and CRP in serum, which also correlated with radiographic disease severity, especially IL-8 and CRP. The best independent predictors of E. faecalis positivity were identified using multivariate logistic regression analysis and included salivary IL-8 and serum CRP, while sIgA and periapical index scores predicted E. faecalis positivity as well. Overall, non-healing root canal infections were characterized by local immune activation and greater salivary IL-8, sIgA, and increased serum CRP.

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Pubblicato

2026-07-23

Fascicolo

V. 14 N. 2 (2026)

Sezione

Adults & the Elderly

Licenza

Copyright (c) 2026 Asmaa Thamer Ali, Hiyam Adnan Ali, Juman Oday Sabri, Kazem Mehdi Kazem

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