Evaluation of peripheral blood CD34+ cell count in the acute phase of traumatic brain injury and chest trauma

AbstractAim: To determine the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and chest trauma (CT) on the number of peripheral blood (PB) stem cells in affected patients in comparison to normal controls. Additionally, the aim was to determine the relationship between CD34+ cell counts and TBI-induced hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction in the acute phase of trauma.Patients and method: Thirty patients with TBI, 12 patients with CT and 53 healthy subjects were included in the study.Results: CD34+ cell counts within the first 24–48 hours of TBI were found to be lower than those obtained on the 7th day of TBI and those in the healthy controls. CD34+ cell counts obtained on the 2nd day of CT were lower than those in the healthy group, but did not differ from those measured on the 7th day of CT. There was no correlation between CD34+ cell counts and serum total cortisol (STC) levels on the 2nd and 7th days in the TBI or CT groups.Conclusion: An increase in CD34+ cell counts as observed on the 7th day in bot...