Article

This retrospective cohort study examined the prevalence and potential risk
factors for elevated liver enzymes in patients following traumatic brain injury
(TBI). The participants were servicemembers with TBI admitted to the Polytrauma
Rehabilitation Center (PRC) at the Hunter Holmes McGuire Department of Veterans
Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, from January 2008 through December
2011. The PRC had 207 patients during this time period, 121 of whom had a liver
panel within 30 d of injury. Patients were retrospectively analyzed and placed
into one of two categories based on alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values. Of the
121 subjects, 59 (49%) had an ALT of 44 IU/L or greater on their initial set of
laboratories. These subjects were compared with those with an ALT of 43 IU/L or
less using chi square analysis. There were no significant differences between the
two groups with regards to sex, military status, race, theater, TBI mechanism,
severity of TBI, or concomitant injuries. Regardless of demographics, mechanism
of injury, or extent of trauma, elevated liver enzymes are common in patients
admitted to the rehabilitation unit following TBI. For the majority of these
patients, enzymes returned to normal with conservative management. In most cases,
no specific etiology was ever defined. Further analysis will be performed to
determine the most efficient way to monitor these patients so that unnecessary
test are avoided and medical expenses are minimized.

Langue : ANGLAIS