The Diagnostic Value of Neuron-Specific Enolase in Children with Mild Blunt Trauma Requiring Cranial CT Scan

Abstract

Background

The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between serum levels of enolase and pathological findings obtained from CT scans of the brain in children with mild blunt brain trauma and help with a more accurate diagnosis of brain injuries.

Methods

The present observational study was conducted on children presenting with head traumas to the emergency department (ED) of Golestan Hospital in Ahvaz, Iran in 2016. A venous blood sample was immediately taken by the ward nurse from all the eligible patients within 6 hrs of the incident after obtaining their information, performing initial examinations and their initial stabilization. Laboratory serum levels and the corresponding interpretations of CT scans of the brain were collected, recorded and then evaluated and analyzed.

Results

A total of 62 children with mild blunt brain trauma were included in the study. A significant difference was observed between the positive CT scan group (2.7±9.74 µg/L) and the negative group (4.23±1.33 µg/L) in terms of serum levels of enolase (P<0.0001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.992 for serum levels of enolase in diagnosing brain lesions caused by mild head traumas. Moreover, with a cut-off point of 6.97 µg/L, brain lesions could be detected with a sensitivity of 93.55% and a specificity of 100%.

Conclusion

Serum levels of enolase were found to be higher in patients with brain injuries. This highly accurate diagnostic biomarker can be recommended for estimating the presence of brain lesions associated with mild head traumas in infants.

Keywords:

• head trauma
• blunt trauma
• diagnosis
• neuron-specific enolase
• children

Ethical Statement

We received ethics approval for this study from the ethical review board Jundishapur ethics committee affiliated with Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (ethics code: IR.AJUMS.REC.1395.827).

Consent Statement

All patients provided written informed consent before entrance to the study.

Acknowledgment

The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the deputy of research affairs of the Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences as part of Bita Fatehifar’s thesis under the research code GP95230.

Author Contributions

All authors contributed to data analysis, drafting or revising the article, gave final approval of the version to be published, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences number: GP95230.