Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between serum serotonin (5-HT) and central nervous system specific protein S100b application value in evaluating the severity of cognitive impairment after traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Material and methods: 102 patients with TBI treated in Jilin Neuropsychiatric Hospital from June 2018 to October 2020 were selected. According to Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale, patients were tested for cognitive function from multiple levels, such as attention, executive function, memory, and language. Patients with cognitive impairment were included into study group ( n = 64), and those without cognitive impairment were assigned to control group ( n = 58). Serum 5-HT and S100b were compared between the two groups with b level. Serum 5-HT and S100b were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), b application value judging cognitive impairment.
Results: Serum 5-HT and S100b levels in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group ( p < 0.05). In serum 5-HT and S100b, there was a significant negative correlation with a MoCA score ( r = -0.527, r = -0.436; p < 0.05, p < 0.05). Combined detection of serum 5-HT and S100b's area under ROC curve (AUC) was 0.810 (95% CI: 0.742-0.936, p < 0.05), sensitivity was 0.842, and specificity was 0.813.
Conclusions: Serum 5-HT and S100b levels are closely related to the cognitive function of TBI patients. Combined detection is helpful to improve the accuracy of predicting cognitive impairment.
Keywords: S100b protein; cognitive impairment; diagnostic efficiency; serotonin; traumatic brain injury.