Differential disruption of blood: brain barrier in severe traumatic brain injury

Saw, Melanie M., Chamberlain, Jenny, Barr, Michelle, Morgan, Matthew, Burnett, John R. and Ho, Kwok M. 2014. Differential disruption of blood: brain barrier in severe traumatic brain injury. Neurocritical Care 20 (2) , pp. 209-216. 10.1007/s12028-013-9933-z

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Abstract

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant cause of death and disability in young adults, but not much is known about the incidence and characteristics of blood–brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction in this group. In this proof of concept study, we sought to quantify the incidence of BBB dysfunction (defined as a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)–plasma albumin quotient of ≥0.007) and examine the relationship between plasma and CSF levels of proteins and electrolytes, in patients with severe TBI. Methods: We recruited 30 patients, all of whom were receiving hypertonic 20 % saline infusion for intracranial hypertension and had external ventricular drains in situ. Simultaneous CSF and blood samples were obtained. Biochemical testing was performed for sodium, osmolality, potassium, glucose, albumin, immunoglobulin-G, and total protein. Results: Eleven patients (37 %) showed evidence of impairment of passive BBB function, with a CSF–plasma albumin quotient of ≥0.007. There were strong positive correlations seen among CSF–plasma albumin quotient and CSF–plasma immunoglobulin-G quotient and CSF–plasma total protein quotient (r = 0.967, P < 0.001 and r = 0.995, P < 0.001, respectively). We also found a higher maximum intracranial pressure (24 vs. 21 mmHg, P = 0.029) and a trend toward increased mortality (27 vs. 11 %, P = 0.33) in patients with BBB disruption. Conclusions: In summary, passive BBB dysfunction is common in patients with severe TBI, and may have important implications for effectiveness of osmotherapy and long-term outcomes. Also, our results suggest that the CSF–plasma total protein quotient, a measurement which is readily available, can be used instead of the CSF–plasma albumin quotient for evaluating BBB dysfunction.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Publisher:	Springer
ISSN:	1541-6933
Last Modified:	27 Mar 2019 11:07
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/78967

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