Biochemical and Radiological Factors for Prognostication of Traumatic Brain Injury: An Institutional Experience

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biochemistry
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) requires accurate prognostic tools.
• Current biomarkers have limitations in predicting TBI outcomes.
• Novel biochemical and imaging markers are needed for TBI prognosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore biochemical markers and imaging findings for predicting TBI outcomes.
• To assess the prognostic value of random blood sugar (RBS), hemoglobin, international normalized ratio (INR), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and cortisol.
• To correlate imaging findings (Rotterdam score components) with TBI severity and outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Prospective observation of 61 moderate to severe TBI patients.
• Assessment of biochemical indices: RBS, hemoglobin, INR, LDH, cortisol.
• Evaluation of CT scan findings and Glasgow Outcome Scores (GOS) for outcome determination.

Main Results:

• Higher admission RBS levels correlated with increased mortality risk (p=0.000).
• Elevated serum cortisol on Days 1 and 5 and increased LDH on Days 1 and 5 showed significant correlation with unfavorable outcomes (p=0.000).
• Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) on CT scans was associated with unfavorable outcomes (p=0.01).

Conclusions:

• Biochemical markers (INR, RBS, cortisol, LDH) are valuable prognostic indicators in TBI.
• Persistent increases in LDH and cortisol levels, GCS, and Rotterdam scoring system predict mortality.
• Integrating biochemical and imaging data enhances TBI outcome prediction.