Abstract
Background
Despite decades of research, outcomes in pediatric traumatic brain injury (pTBI) remain
highly variable. Brain biofluid-specific biomarkers from pTBI patients may allow us
to diagnose and prognosticate earlier and with a greater degree of accuracy than conventional
methods. This manuscript reviews the evidence surrounding current brain-specific biomarkers
in pTBI and assesses the temporal relationship between the natural history of the
traumatic brain injury (TBI) and measured biomarker levels.
Methods
A literature search was conducted in the Ovid, PubMed, MEDLINE, and Cochrane databases
seeking relevant publications. The study selection and screening process were documented
in a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram.
Extraction forms included developmental stages of patients, type and biofluid source
of biomarkers, brain injury type, and other relevant data.
Results
The search strategy identified 443 articles, of which 150 examining the biomarkers
of our interest were included. The references retrieved were examined thoroughly and
discussed at length with a pediatric neurocritical care intensivist specializing in
pTBI and a Ph.D. scientist with a high degree of involvement in TBI biomarker research,
authoring a vast amount of literature in this field.
Conclusions
TBI biomarkers might serve as valuable tools in the diagnosis and prognosis of pTBI.
However, while each biomarker has its advantages, they are not without limitations,
and therefore, further research is critical in pTBI biomarkers.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 18, 2022
Accepted:
March 11,
2022
Received:
November 4,
2020
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
