Pennsylvania residents may be interested to know that a study from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center found a potential way to measure the severity of a traumatic brain injury in less than 15 minutes. It’s a test to measure the level of a protein called glial fibrillary acidic protein in a person’s blood.
Eliminating the guesswork in diagnosis
Currently, doctors cannot accurately determine the severity of TBIs, which means they often don’t know if a patient should undergo further treatments. However, it has long been known that GFAP and a similar protein called S100B are released into the bloodstream after a TBI.
The FDA has approved GFAP as a diagnostic marker to help doctors decide if patients need a CT scan or not within 12 hours of incurring a TBI. The study proposes a way to quickly determine GFAP levels, which researchers say will reduce unnecessary CT scans by 20%.
What researchers envision for the future
Researchers hope to develop a cartridge for a handheld device called the i-STAT device that can measure a patient’s GFAP levels. They emphasize the rapidity with which the device should be able to produce results, making it ideal for any situation: For example, it could be used on soldiers injured on the battlefield or on hospital patients in rural areas where resources are limited.
Legal representation for TBI victims
Those who incur catastrophic injuries like TBIs should know that they may be eligible for compensation. It all depends on how the injury occurred and who was at fault. Perhaps you even had to suffer as a result of medical negligence. Your case can be very complicated, so you may want a lawyer to assist with the filing procedure. The lawyer may negotiate for a settlement with the other side while you focus on physically recovering.
