Neurofilament light chains to assess sepsis-associated encephalopathy: Are we on the track toward clinical implementation?

Sepsis is the most common cause of admission to intensive care units worldwide. Sepsis patients frequently suffer from sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) reflecting acute brain dysfunction. SAE may result in increased mortality, extended length of hospital stay, and long-term cognitive dysfuncti...

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Published in:Critical care (London, England) England), 2023-05, Vol.27 (1), p.214-214, Article 214
Main Authors: Bircak-Kuchtova, Barbora, Chung, Ha-Yeun, Wickel, Jonathan, Ehler, Johannes, Geis, Christian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alzheimer's disease
Biomarker
Biomarkers
Brain dysfunction
Care and treatment
Caregivers
Cognitive ability
Complications and side effects
Consciousness
Critical care
Cytoplasmic filaments
Delirium
Encephalopathy
Health aspects
Hospital patients
Intensive care
Medical prognosis
Memory
Mental disorders
Mortality
Neurofilament light chain
Patients
Prevention
Protein expression
Review
Risk factors
Sepsis
Trauma
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Summary:Sepsis is the most common cause of admission to intensive care units worldwide. Sepsis patients frequently suffer from sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) reflecting acute brain dysfunction. SAE may result in increased mortality, extended length of hospital stay, and long-term cognitive dysfunction. The diagnosis of SAE is based on clinical assessments, but a valid biomarker to identify and confirm SAE and to assess SAE severity is missing. Several blood-based biomarkers indicating neuronal injury have been evaluated in sepsis and their potential role as early diagnosis and prognostic markers has been studied. Among those, the neuroaxonal injury marker neurofilament light chain (NfL) was identified to potentially serve as a prognostic biomarker for SAE and to predict long-term cognitive impairment. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of biomarkers, especially NfL, in SAE and discuss a possible future clinical application considering existing limitations.
ISSN:1364-8535
1466-609X
1364-8535
1366-609X
DOI:10.1186/s13054-023-04497-4