Serum NOX4 as a Promising Prognostic Biomarker in Association with 90-Day Outcome of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

PURPOSE: Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 4 (NOX4) is related to brain oxidative stress. We attempted to examine the association between serum NOX4 levels, severity and prognosis of severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI). METHODS: We measured serum NOX4 levels in 105 patients with sTBI. Trauma severity was assessed using Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and Rotterdam computed tomography (CT) classification. Study outcome data on death and worst outcome (Glasgow outcome scale score of 1–3) were collected at 90 days after trauma. Multivariate analyses were performed to determine independent factors for overall survival and worst outcome. Area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was estimated to assess prognostic predictive ability. RESULTS: Serum NOX4 levels were tightly correlated with GCS score (t=−5.843, P < 0.001) and Rotterdam CT score (t = 4.231, P < 0.001). During 90 days of follow-up, 50 participants (47.6%) experienced a worse outcome, 28 (26.7%) died and the mean overall survival time was 71.9 days (95% confidence interval (CI), 65.7–78.1 days). Serum NOX4 was independently associated with an increased risk of short overall survival (hazard ratio, 1.129; 95% CI, 1.039–1.228) or worse outcome (odds ratio, 1.053; 95% CI, 1.014–1.095). Serum NOX4 levels had a certain predictive value for the patient’s risk of mortality (AUC, 0.803; 95% CI, 0.714–0.874) or worse outcome (AUC, 0.780; 95% CI, 0.689–0.855). Moreover, its AUC was in the range of GCS score and Rotterdam CT score (both P > 0.05) and it significantly improved their AUCs (both P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Serum NOX4 levels in the acute phase of sTBI were associated with trauma severity, an increased risk of mortality and worse outcome, suggesting that serum NOX4 could be an important prognostic factor for sTBI.