Capillary blood protein markers of posttraumatic headache in children after concussion

Feiven Fan, Franz E. Babl, Ella E.K. Swaney, Stephen J.C. Hearps, Michael Takagi, Samantha J. Emery-Corbin, Laura F. Dagley, Jumana Yousef, Georgia M. Parkin, Vanessa C. Rausa, Nicholas Anderson, Fabian Fabiano, Kevin Dunne, Marc Seal, Gavin A. Davis, Chantal Attard, Vicki Anderson, Vera Ignjatovic

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Posttraumatic headache (PTH) represents the most common acute and persistent symptom in children after concussion, yet there is no blood protein signature to stratify the risk of PTH after concussion to facilitate early intervention. This discovery study aimed to identify capillary blood protein markers, at emergency department (ED) presentation within 48 hours of concussion, to predict children at risk of persisting PTH at 2 weeks postinjury. METHODS Capillary blood was collected using the Mitra Clamshell device from children aged 8-17 years who presented to the ED of the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, within 48 hours of sustaining a concussion. Participants were followed up at 2 weeks postinjury to determine PTH status. PTH was defined per clinical guidelines as a new or worsened headache compared with preinjury. An untargeted proteomics analysis using data-independent acquisition (DIA) was performed. Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering were used to reduce the dimensionality of the protein dataset. RESULTS A total of 907 proteins were reproducibly identified from 82 children within 48 hours of concussion. The mean participant age was 12.78 years (SD 2.54 years, range 8-17 years); 70% of patients were male. Eighty percent met criteria for acute PTH in the ED, while one-third of participants with follow-up experienced PTH at 2 weeks postinjury (range 8-16 days). Hemoglobin subunit zeta (HBZ), cystatin B (CSTB), beta-ala-his dipeptidase (CNDP1), hemoglobin subunit gamma-1 (HBG1), and zyxin (ZYX) were weakly associated with PTH at 2 weeks postinjury based on up to a 7% increase in the PTH group despite nonsignificant Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted p values. CONCLUSIONS This discovery study determined that no capillary blood protein markers, measured at ED presentation within 48 hours of concussion, can predict children at risk of persisting PTH at 2 weeks postinjury. While HBZ, CSTB, CNDP1, HBG1, and ZYX were weakly associated with PTH at 2 weeks postinjury, there was no specific blood protein signature predictor of PTH in children after concussion. There is an urgent need to discover new blood biomarkers associated with PTH to facilitate risk stratification and improve clinical management of pediatric concussion.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)610-618
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics
Volume33
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2024

Keywords

  • blood biomarkers
  • mild traumatic brain injury
  • pediatric concussion
  • postconcussion symptoms
  • posttraumatic headache
  • trauma

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Clinical Neurology

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