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. 2023 Sep 18;12(9):1668-1675.
doi: 10.21037/tp-23-194. Epub 2023 Sep 11.

Plasma proteoglycan 4: a novel biomarker for acute lung injury after pediatric cardiac surgery

Ahmed Asfari  1 , Erica A Doyle  2 , Gregory D Jay  3 , Natalia Aristizabal  4 , Ananya Manchikalapati  5 , A K M Fazlur Rahman  6 , Kristal M Hock  1 , Santiago Borasino  1 , Namasivayam Ambalavanan  7 , Tannin A Schmidt  2 , Leslie A Rhodes  1
Affiliations

Plasma proteoglycan 4: a novel biomarker for acute lung injury after pediatric cardiac surgery

Ahmed Asfari et al. Transl Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Identification of biological molecules related to post cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) lung injury could help diagnose, predict and potentially impact patient's clinical course after cardiac surgery. Proteoglycan 4 (PRG4) initially identified as potential biomarker for patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation following CPB in a prior study. To further validate these findings, we sought to understand the association of lower plasma PRG4 with prolonged mechanical ventilation and worse lung compliance in a larger cohort of pediatric patients post CPB.

Methods: Retrospective chart review study. Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Tertiary Hospital. Infants <1 year old with tetralogy of Fallot, ventricular septal defect, or atrioventricular septal defect who underwent surgical repair 2012-2020 and had stored plasma samples in our biorepository were screened for inclusion. Patients with mechanical ventilation before surgery were excluded. Patients were divided into quartiles based on postoperative duration of mechanical ventilation (control <25th percentile, study >75th percentile). Preoperative and 48-hour postoperative samples for each cohort (20 patients each) were tested for PRG4 level using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique.

Results: Study group had lower lung compliance, higher mean airway pressure and higher oxygen need postoperative when compared to control group. Plasma PRG4 levels before surgery and 48 hours postoperative were lower in study group compared to control group (P=0.0232 preoperative; P=0.0016 postoperative). Plasma PRG4 levels were compared preoperative to PRG4 levels postoperative in both group, there was no statistically significant difference (study group: P=0.0869; control group: P=0.6500).

Conclusions: Lower levels of plasma PRG4 is associated with longer duration of mechanical ventilation, worse ventilator compliance and higher oxygen requirement after cardiac surgery in our patient population. Further validation of this finding in a larger and more diverse patient population is necessary prior to its application at the bedside.

Keywords: Acute lung injury (ALI); biomarkers; infants; pediatric cardiac surgery; proteoglycan 4 (PRG4).

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://tp.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/tp-23-194/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRG4 levels for all study subjects. Each study subject has two samples; preoperative and postoperative. Group C, control group; Group S, study group. PRG4, proteoglycan 4; ID, identity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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