Dynamics of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein During Traumatic Brain Injury in Children
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2011 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection and Critical Care |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/TA.0b013e3182140c8c |
| Field | Surgery incl. transplantology |
| Keywords | Glial fibrillary acidic protein; brain injury; outcome; children |
| Description | Backgrounds: Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a monomeric intermediate filament protein found in the astroglial cytoskeleton and is not found outside the central nervous system. It is a brain-specific protein that is released after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: This prospective study enrolled 59 children who had TBI, as verified by computed tomography. Daily GFAP measurement began at admission (< 12 hours after trauma) and continued for 6 days. Blood samples were analyzed for GFAP by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Outcome was assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) at 6 months after injury. Results: The median serum levels of GFAP at admission were 7.47 ng/mL in patients who died, compared with 0.12 ng/mL in patients who survived (p = 0.002). GFAP levels were significantly higher in patients who had a poor outcome 6 months after injury than in those who were alive or had good outcome (p < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for GFAP was 0.833 for day 0 and 0.884 for day 2. Conclusions: These results suggest that determination of serum levels of GFAP may add to the clinical assessment of the primary damage and prediction of outcome after severe TBI. |