Changes of biochemical biomarkers in the serum of children with convulsion status epilepticus: a prospective study

BACKGROUND: Convulsive status epilepticus (CSE) is a common neurologic emergency with high morbidity and mortality. This single center study is aimed to assess changes of serum biochemical biomarkers after seizure, and their associations with the development of CSE. METHODS: From January 2015 to October 2016, a total of 57 CSE patients, and 30 healthy controls without central nervous system diseases were enrolled in Children’s Hospital of Soochow University. CSE patients were further divided into viral encephalitis (VEN, 13 cases), primary generalized epilepsy (PGE, 30 cases), and complex febrile seizures (CFS, 14 cases). The levels of serum biochemical biomarkers were measured using the corresponding commercial ELISA kits. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the associations between these biomarkers and diseases. RESULTS: At the 1(st) and 4(th) day of CSE, neuron-specific enolase (NSE; 1(st) day: 20.553 ± 5.360, 4(th) day: 10.094 ± 3.426) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF; 1(st) day: 153.504 ± 31.246, 4(th) day: 138.536 ± 25.221) in the CSE group were increased compared to the control (NSE: 6.138 ± 1.941; VEGF: 119.210 ± 31.681). Both the levels of S-100 calcium binding protein B (S-100B; 1(st) day: 0.738 ± 0.391) and C-reactive protein (CRP; 1(st) day: 11.128 ± 12.066) were elevated at 1(st) day of CSE (S-100B: 0.387 ± 0.040; CRP: 3.915 ± 2.064). For glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), it was remarkably upregulated at 4(th) day of CSE (3.998 ± 1.211). NSE (P = 0.000), S-100B (P = 0.000), CRP (P = 0.011), and VEGF (P = 0.000) at 1(st) day of CSE, and NSE (P = 0.000), VEGF (P = 0.005), and GFAP (P = 0.000) at 4(th) day of CSE were significantly associated with the occurrence of CSE. Besides, NSE (P = 0.002), S-100B (P = 0.001), and VEGF (P = 0.002) at 4(th) day of CSE were significantly associated with VEN. CONCLUSIONS: The levels of serum NSE, S-100B, CRP, VEGF, and GFAP are associated with CSE.