Prognostic value of new neuron-specific biomarkers in patients recovered from cardiac arrest

Neurological prognosis of patients recovered from a cardiac arrest remains a challenge for Intensive Medicine specialists. Given the complexity of this scenario and the ensuing ethical dilemmas, current guidelines from the major scientific societies recommend a multimodal prognostic model for patients recovered from cardiac arrest. This model combines several clinical parameters, neurophysiological studies, such as electroencephalogram and somatosensory evoked potentials, and neuroimaging studies such as computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging, as well as biomarkers for brain injury. More recently, several biomarkers associated with brain injury, originating from different regions of the brain, have been identified as potential prognostication tools within a multimodal approach. Based on the preliminary evidence gathered around them, several novel and promising biomarkers have been put forward. This literature review aims to examine four of them: ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1, glial fibrillary acidic protein, neurofilament light and tau protein.