Background: Chronic liver disease is a progressive destruction of the liver structures over a period greater than 6 months leading to fibrosis and cirrhosis and its consequence complication that lead to significant morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients. Interleukin 6 is one of pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in pathogenesis of acute and chronic liver diseases and plays an important role in liver regeneration and is one of cytokines that involved in pathogenesis of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Aim: To evaluate the level of IL-6 in chronic liver disease and the association between the level of IL-6 and severity of chronic liver disease. Patients and Methods:This cross sectional case_ control study that included seventy four patients with signs and symptoms of chronic liver disease from gastroenterology departments in children welfare teaching hospital from December 2019 till  November 2020 considered as patients group and thirty healthy children as control group . Blood was aspirated from them and tested for serum level of IL_6 in each patients. This level was compared between them. Results: There was significant increase of IL-6 level in patients group but no difference between IL-6 level and the age and type of diagnosis. There was also significant increase of IL_6 level in patients who developed encephalopathy and positive correlation between IL-6 with child pugh score and pediatric end stage liver disease score. Conclusions: There significant increase of IL_6 and chronic liver disease and being higher in those with encephalopathy and but no relation between its level and gender  of patients or diagnosis. IL_6 level increase with increase severity of liver disease.

Keywords: Interleukin 6 (IL-6), pediatric, chronic liver diseases (CLD), encephalopathy.