SOON,A BEDSIDE BLOOD TEST TO DETECT BRAIN INJURY FAST

NEW DELHI: Doctors may soon be able to diagnose brain injury with the help of a bedside blood test even in the absence of CT scan or MRI facilities.

The test, being developed by doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi,will be helpful for doctors at hospitals that do not have round-the-clock imaging facilities to triage patients and refer them to a higher centre that can manage the symptoms.

“In cases of traumatic brain injury, the mortality rate is 35% in the first 48 hours. Of those who survive, 50% go slip into a vegetative state and the rest sustain some neurological deficits. These numbers are despite best possible care. So, in case there is an injury, it needs to be detected fast,” said Dr Sanjeev Bhoi, professor of emergency medicine, AIIMS trauma centre.

As per National Crime Records Bureau data, an estimated 1.5 million people suffer from traumatic brain injury in India every year. Of them, 60% sustain injuries due to road accident, 20-25% from falls and 10% due to violence.

The doctors from AIIMS trauma centre are looking at a serum called Human ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase (UCHL1), a well-accepted biomarker for traumatic brain injury.

The doctors, in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad, have developed the test using gold nanoparticles to detect the serum level in the blood.

“For the study, we enrolled patients with traumatic brain injury. We conducted the necessary scans along with the test. This helped us compare the results,” Dr Bhoi said, adding, “However, this was a small pilot study. A multi-centric study would be needed to prove the effectiveness of the test.”

According to an article on the issue published in the international journal Analyst, the test is as accurate as the conventional ELISA test.