Plasma levels of high mobility group box 1 increase in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder after severe blunt chest trauma: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a key late mediator of systemic inflammation, is a potentially useful biomarker for predicting outcome in patients with severe blunt chest trauma. The purpose of this study was to define the relationship between plasma levels of HMGB1 and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients with severe blunt chest trauma.
METHODS: All patients with severe blunt chest trauma (abbreviated injury score ≥3) who were admitted to traumatic surgery department and ultimately survived to follow-up at 6 mo were eligible for the study. HMGB1 was sampled every other day from day 1-day 7 after admission, and plasma concentrations of HMGB1 were measured by a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. Multivariate regression analysis was used to define the independent contribution of possible risk factors selected by univariate analysis.
RESULTS: PTSD was identified in 43 patients including acute PTSD (n = 21), chronic PTSD (n = 18), and delayed-onset PTSD (n = 4) after 6-mo follow-up, in whom significant higher plasma levels of HMGB1 on days three, five, and seven after blunt chest trauma were noted compared with those seen in patients without PTSD (n = 10). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that transfusion, injury severity score, and HMGB1 levels at day 7 were the valuable risk factors for PTSD.
CONCLUSIONS: In blunt chest trauma, plasma HMGB1 levels were significantly higher in patients with PTSD compared with patients with non-PTSD. Our data indicate that patients with high plasma levels of HMGB1 may be more prone to develop PTSD including acute and chronic PTSD.