Elevated Cell-Free Plasma DNA Level as an Independent Predictor of Mortality in Patients with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Trauma is the leading cause of death in individuals less than 45 years old worldwide, and up to 50% of trauma fatalities are because of brain injury. Prediction of outcome is one of the major problems associated with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), and research efforts have focused on the investigation of biomarkers with prognostic value after TBI. Therefore, our aim was to investigate whether cell-free DNA concentrations correlated to short-term primary outcome (survival or death) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores after severe TBI. A total of 188 patients with severe TBI were enrolled in this prospective study; outcome variables comprised survival and neurological assessment using the GCS at intensive care unit (ICU) discharge. Control blood samples were obtained from 25 healthy volunteers. Peripheral venous blood was collected at admission to the ICU. Plasma DNA was measured using a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the beta-globin gene. There was correlation between higher DNA levels and both fatal outcome and lower hospital admission GCS scores. Plasma DNA concentrations at the chosen cutoff point (>= 171,381 kilogenomes-equivalents/L) predicted mortality with a specificity of 90% and a sensitivity of 43%. Logistic regression analysis showed that elevated plasma DNA levels were independently associated with death (p < 0.001). In conclusion, high cell-free DNA concentration was a predictor of short-term mortality after severe TBI.