Inability of S100B to predict postconcussion syndrome in children who present to the emergency department with mild traumatic brain injury: a brief report.

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the ability of the serum marker S100B to predict the development and severity of postconcussion syndrome (PCS) at 3 months in children after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This is a retrospective analysis of a prospective observational study conducted in a pediatric emergency department (ED). Children were eligible for the study if they were between the ages 5 and 18 years, presented within 6 hours of injury, met the case definition of mTBI from American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, had a Glasgow Coma Scale score of greater than 13, consented to have blood drawn for S100B levels, and completed the 3-month telephone follow-up. At the follow-up, the Rivermead Postconcussion Questionnaire was conducted to determine the development and severity of PCS. A total of 76 children were included in this cohort. The children had a mean (SD) age of 14.0 (3.1) years, 60.5% were male, and 89.5% had a Glasgow Coma Scale of 15. Twenty-eight (36.8%) developed PCS. For the children who developed PCS, the mean (SD) S100B level was 0.092 (0.376) µg/L. For children who did not develop PCS (n = 48), the mean (SD) S100B level was 0.022 (0.031) µg/L. The analyses did not support an association between initial S100B levels measured in the ED and development of PCS or severity of PCS symptoms. In this small sample, S100B, measured immediately after injury in the ED, did not seem to predict those children with mTBI who will go on to develop PCS.