Written By: Tavishi Dogra | Updated : August 23, 2022 8:31 PM IST
A blood test taken on the day of a fatal brain injury can tell when a patient will die or whether he will be able to avoid severe disability. In addition, this blood test can help the doctor determine if a brain injury is potentially treatable. The study's results, published in The Lancet Neurology, suggest that high levels of two proteins, UCH-L1 and GFAP, are linked with severe injury and death. As a result, the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) has clarified that GFAP and UCH-L1 were used in 2018 to help doctors determine whether a CT scan is needed for traumatic brain injury.
For the study, the team used two instruments to detect the protein and analyzed blood tests taken on the day of the injury from nearly 1,700 patients with severe brain injuries. Evaluations were compared to outcomes six months after injury using the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended. The Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended is a system that measures brain injury patients' ability to function. The researchers found that patients with a GFAP value of less than 20 per cent were 23 times more likely to die within six months of the injury. This threat was against those whose GFAP value was up to 80 per cent.
University of Michigan researcher Frederick Korley says early and accurate estimates of traumatic brain injury can help doctors determine how severe a brain injury is. Apart from this, the doctor can also tell the close people to the patient how to take care of the patient in case of brain injury. Not only this but the things related to the patient's recovery can also be estimated.
Similarly, patients with a UCH-L1 value of less than 20 per cent had 63 times higher risk of death within six months of injury. But, again, this threat was against those whose UCH-L1 value was up to 80 per cent.
