Clinical Significance of Serum Biomarker S100B to Predict Outcome After Traumatic Brain Injury in Adults

Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common cause of death and disability, worldwide. Early recognition of patients with brain cellular damage allows for early rehabilitation and patient outcome improvement. Serum protein S-100B determinations have been widely suggested the most promising biomarker for TBI. It has been proposed that this marker is useful in a Neurointensive Care Unit (NICU) as a monitoring parameter. The main objective of this study is to assess the value of including acute S100B levels in standard clinical data as an early screening tool for brain death after severe TBI. Material and methods In this prospective study, the clinical conditions of patients with mild to moderate TBI were assessed and patient serum S100B levels measured within 24h of injury were eligible for inclusion in the study using by electro chemi luminescence (ECL). Patients were admitted to The Govt. Trauma Centre, P.B.M. Hospital, Bikaner in NICU and followed up one month later and evaluated for level of consciousness, presence or absence of post-traumatic headache, and daily activity performance (using the Barthel scale). Student's t-test and the chi-square test were used for the data analysis, which was performed using SPSS software. Result and discussion The mean serum S100B value was significantly lower for patients with minor TBI than for patients with moderate TBI (20.4 ± 12.6 ng/dl and 124.0 ± 235.0 ng/dl, respectively). Patients with normal CT scans also had statistically significantly lower serum S100B levels than patients with abnormal CT findings. The mean S100B value was statistically significantly higher for patients with suspected diffused axonal injury (596.18 ± 502.1 ng/dl) than for patients with other abnormal CT findings (p=0.000): 20.97 ± 19.9 ng/dl in patients with normal CT results; 39.56 ± 21.7 ng/dl in patients with skull bone fracture; 50.38 ± 22.9 ng/dl in patients with intracranial haemorrhage; and 70.23 ± 31.3 ng/dl in patients with fracture plus intracranial haemorrhage. Conclusion Serum S100B levels increase in patients with minor to moderate TBIs, especially in those with diffused axonal injury. However, serum S100B values cannot accurately predict one-month neuropsychological outcomes and performance.