TRAIL and IP-10 as biomarkers of viral infections in the emergency department

We read with interest the recent article by ten Oever et al., on immune response-derived biomarkers in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory disorders. 1 Ten Oever J. Netea M.G. Kullberg B.J. Utility of immune response-derived biomarkers in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory disorders. J Infect. 2016; 72: 1-18 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (34) Google Scholar In this review article, the authors summarize the evidence on current and future biomarkers. They conclude that procalcitonin (PCT) is a promising biomarker, but that single biomarker analysis seems to be insufficient as a stand-alone test for an etiologic diagnosis. We report our findings of a study on two interferon pathway derived biomarkers for diagnosing viral infections, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and interferon-γ-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), both as single markers, and combined in a multi-biomarker model with PCT, in an emergency department (ED) setting.