Syndecan-1: A Quantitative Marker for the Endotheliopathy of Trauma

Background Endothelial glycocalyx breakdown elicits syndecan-1 shedding and endotheliopathy of trauma (EoT). We hypothesized that a cutoff syndecan-1 level can identify patients with endothelial dysfunction who would have poorer outcomes. Study Design We conducted a prospective observational study. Trauma patients with the highest level of activation admitted from July 2011 through September 2013 were eligible. We recorded demographics, injury type/severity (Injury Severity Score), physiology and outcomes data, and quantified syndecan-1 and soluble thrombomodulin from plasma with ELISAs. With receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, we defined EoT+ as the syndecan-1 cutoff level that maximized the sum of sensitivity and specificity (Youden index) in predicting 24-hour in-hospital mortality. We stratified by this cutoff and compared both groups. Factors associated with 30-day in-hospital mortality were assessed with multivariable logistic regression (adjusted odds ratios and 95% CIs reported). Results From receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (area under the curve = 0.71; 95% CI 0.58 to 0.84), we defined EoT+ as syndecan-1 level ≥40 ng/mL (sensitivity = 0.62, specificity = 0.73). Of the 410 patients evaluated, 34% (n = 138) were EoT+ patients, who presented with higher Injury Severity Scores (p Conclusions A syndecan-1 level ≥40 ng/mL identified patients with significantly worse outcomes, despite admission physiology similar to those without the condition.