S-100 Protein and Neuron-Specific Enolase as Markers of Subclinical Cerebral Damage after Cardiac Surgery: Preliminary Observation of a 6-Month Follow-Up Study

Cerebral damage remains one of the hazards related to cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. The use of biochemical markers of cerebral injury may be of practical value. We investigated the plasma release patterns of S-100 protein and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) during the intervention and their relationship with the development of neuropsychological deficits assessed 6 months after the intervention in 16 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Both S-100 and NSE significantly increased peri- and postoperatively. Significant correlations were found between values measured at several time points and impaired performance in a few tests at the 6-month follow-up. A stratification into two age subgroups led to the hypothesis that age might have a confounding or a modifying effect on the association between S-100 and NSE levels, and cognitive impairment.