I-FABP is a Novel Marker for the Detection of Intestinal Injury in Severely Injured Trauma Patients

摘要

Abstract Background Intestinal injury is a rare injury in multiply traumatized patients, and its diagnosis remains difficult. Delayed diagnosis of an intestinal injury increases the risk of sepsis, multiple organ failure and mortality. The intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) is solely expressed in the intestine and is released extracellulary after tissue damage. This study evaluates the validity of I-FABP as an early biomarker to detect an abdominal injury and particularly an injury to the intestine. Patients and Methods Patients with an Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score for abdominal body region (AIS abdomen) ≥3 were included in this study from 07/2006 to 12/2014. Of those, ten patients retrospectively had an intestinal injury (int. injury). According to the Injury Severity Score and the AIS abdomen, corresponding patients with an abdominal injury but without an intestinal injury (no int. injury) were included for matched-pair analysis. Twenty healthy volunteers served as controls. Plasma I-FABP levels were measured at admission to the emergency room and up to 10?days daily (d1–d10). Results Median I-FABP levels were significantly higher in the “int. injury” group compared to the “no int. injury” group [2101.0?pg/ml (IQR?=?1248.1–4117.8) vs. 351.4?pg/ml (IQR?=?287.6–963.3), p ? p ? Conclusion This study confirmed our previous observation that I-FABP might be used as a suitable early biomarker for the detection of abdominal injuries in general. In addition and more specific, I-FABP may be a useful and promising parameter in the diagnosis of intestinal injuries.