Evolution of blood biomarkers reflective of brain tissue damage and inflammation in the perioperative course of intracerebral haemorrhage evacuation in a phase II proof-of-concept trial

Background Whether surgical haematoma evacuation leads to reduced brain damage in patients with spontaneous supratentorial intracerebral haemorrhage (SSICH) remains unknown. Blood biomarkers reflecting brain damage could aid in prognosticating the clinical outcome and hence support quantifying the benefit of surgical interventions.

Methods Blood samples from 10 patients with SSICH in the phase II early minimally invasive image-guided endoscopic evacuation of intracerebral hemorrhage (EMINENT-ICH) pilot study (NCT04805177, completed) were collected longitudinally (at baseline, 24 hours, 3 days, 1 week, 1 month and 6 months after surgical haematoma evacuation). Neurofilament light chain (NfL), glial fibrillar acidic protein (GFAP), calcium-binding protein S100B and the inflammatory markers interferon-gamma, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and tumour necrosis factor alpha were quantified.

The perioperative and long-term course of concentrations and association with clinical outcome measures were assessed. A favourable outcome was defined as a modified ranking scale ≤3.