The Relationship Between Serum Thiol Levels and Thiol/Disulfide Homeostasis with Head Trauma in Children

Background: Oxidative stress may induce brain injury. Thiols are one of the most important antioxidant agents, and thiol/ disulphide (SH/SS) homeo stasis is a novel oxidative stress marker. The goal of the study was to investigate the relationship of thiol levels and SH/SS homeostasis with head trauma in pediatric patients. Methods: This prospective study was conducted in 85 consecutive pediatric patients aged < 18 years with isolated head trauma and 58 age-and gender-matched healthy controls in the Emergency Department (ED). Results: The mean age was 4.40 +/- 3.03 years for the patient group and 4.75 +/- 1.81 years for the controls (p > 0.05). There were no significant differences in biochemical parameters including serum albumin, urea, alanine aminotransferase, total bilirubin, uric acid, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and white blood cells (WBC) in the patient and control groups (for each, p > 0.05). The thiol (SH) level was significantly higher in the patient group than in the controls (388.83 +/- 51.949 vs. 369.04 +/- 37.62 mu mol/L; p = 0.009). The total thiol (TT) level was somewhat higher in the patient group, but the difference was not significant (416.11 +/- 47.29 vs. 405.08 +/- 35.27 mu mol/L; p = 0.113). The disulphide (SS) level was lower in the patient group (p < 0.001). The SS/SH and SS/TT ratios were significantly lower in the patient group, while the SH/ TT ratio was significantly higher (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Analysis of serum thiol levels and SH/SS homeostasis might be useful in order to determine the head trauma in pediatric patients.