Association of APOE ε4 with progressive hemorrhagic injury in patients with traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage

OBJECTIVEThe intracranial hematoma volume in patients with traumatic brain injury is a key parameter for the determination of the management approach and outcome. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 is reported to be a risk factor for larger hematoma volume, which might contribute to a poor outcome. However, whether APOE ε4 is related to progressive hemorrhagic injury (PHI), a common occurrence in the clinical setting, remains unclear. In this study, the authors aimed to investigate the association between the APOE genotype and occurrence of PHI.METHODSThis prospective study included a cohort of 123 patients with traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage who initially underwent conservative treatment. These patients were assigned to the PHI or non-PHI group according to the follow-up CT scan. A polymerase chain reaction and sequencing method were carried out to determine the APOE genotype. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to identify predictors of PHI.RESULTSThe overall frequency of the alleles was as follows: E2/2, 0%; E2/3, 14.6%; E3/3, 57.8%; E2/4, 2.4%; E3/4, 22.8%; and E4/4, 2.4%. Thirty-four patients carried at least one allele of ε4. In this study 60 patients (48.8%) experienced PHI, and the distribution of the alleles was as follows: E2/2, 0%; E2/3, 5.7%; E3/3, 22.8%; E2/4, 2.4%; E3/4, 16.3%; and E4/4, 1.6%, which was significantly different from that in the non-PHI group (p = 0.008). Additionally, the late operation rate in the PHI group was significantly higher than that in the non-PHI group (24.4% vs 11.4%, p = 0.002). Multivariate logistic regression identified APOE ε4 (OR 5.14, 95% CI 2.40–11.62), an elevated international normalized ratio (OR 3.57, 95% CI 1.61–8.26), and higher glucose level (≥ 10 mmol/L) (OR 3.88, 95% CI 1.54–10.77) as independent risk factors for PHI. Moreover, APOE ε4 was not a risk factor for the coagulopathy and outcome of the patients with traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage.CONCLUSIONSThe presence of APOE ε4, an elevated international normalized ratio, and a higher glucose level (≥ 10 mmol/L) are predictors of PHI. Additionally, APOE ε4 is not associated with traumatic coagulopathy and patient outcome.

Incidence of progressive hemorrhagic injury in patients presenting with traumatic brain injury at a large tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. A Case Series.

Objectives: Our study aims to determine the frequency of progressive hemorrhagic injury as observed on the CT scan from the initial scan performed at the time of presentation to a subsequent one in the 12 hours after the initial scan. Study Design: The type of study is a prospective observational case series. Setting: At Tertiary Care Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Period: 3 months from June 2018 to August 2018. Materials & Methods: All patients over 18 years of age who presented to the Accident and Emergency Department of the hospital with traumatic brain injury and had a CT scan performed within four hours of the injury were included in the study. A predesigned proforma was used to note down patient findings. CT scan findings were classified as subdural hematoma (SDH), intraparenchymal contusion (IPC) extradural hematoma (EDH) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). A repeat CT scan was performed twelve hours after the initial CT scan. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20.0, mean and frequencies were calculated for continuous variables while frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables. Results: Of the n= 110 patients in our study 79 were males and 31 were female, the mean age of the patients was 34.25 years. The Glasgow Coma Scale scores at the time of arrival were between thirteen and fifteen for n= 33 (30%) of the patients, between nine and twelve for n= 54 (49.09%) of the patients, less than and equal to eight for n= 23 (20.90%) of the patients. Subarachnoid hemorrhage was present in n= 32 (29.09%) patients, intraparenchymal hematoma was present in n= 42 (38.18%) of the patients, while subdural hematoma and epidural hematoma was present in n= 14 (12.72%) and n= 22 (20%) of the patients respectively. Progressive hemorrhagic injury was found in n= 66 (60%) of the patients, while in n= 11 (10%) of the patients there was resolution of the lesion and n= 33 (33%) of the patients showed no observable changes in the repeat CT scan. Finally, our results indicate that of the 110 patients in our study PHI was seen in n= 17 (53.12%) patients with SAH, n= 18 (81.81%) patients of EDH, n= 5 (35.71%) patients of SDH and n= 26 (61.90%) patients of IPC respectively. Conclusion: According to the results of our study PHI is observed in 60% of the patients with a traumatic brain injury observed within the initial 12 hours after injury, and epidural hematoma and intraparenchymal contusions had the highest incidences of PHI among all the different types of traumatic brain injuries.

Expressions of plasma cystatin C, D-dimer and hypersensitive C-reactive protein in patients with intracranial progressive hemorrhagic injury after craniocerebral injury, and their clinical significance

ABSTRACT Objective To investigate the expressions of plasma cystatin C (Cys-C), D-dimer (D-D) and hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in patients with intracranial progressive hemorrhagic injury (IPHI) after craniocerebral injury, and their clinical significance. Methods Forty-two IPHI patients and 20 healthy participants (control) were enrolled. The severity and outcome of IPHI were determined according to the Glasgow Coma Scale and Glasgow Outcome Scale, and the plasma Cys-C, hs-CRP and D-D levels were measured. Results The plasma Cys-C, D-D and hs-CRP levels in the IPHI group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.01). There were significant differences of plasma Cys-C, D-D and hs-CRP levels among different IPHI patients according to the Glasgow Coma Scale and according to the Glasgow Outcome Scale (all p < 0.05). In the IPHI patients, the plasma Cys-C, D-D and hs-CRP levels were positively correlated with each other (p < 0.001). Conclusion The increase of plasma Cys-C, D-D and hs-CRP levels may be involved in IPHI after craniocerebral injury. The early detection of these indexes may help to understand the severity and outcome of IPHI.