Berger and Richichi developed an equation to help interpret the concentration of neuron-specific enolase in a hemolyzed blood specimen. The authors are from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Patient selection: age < 11 years
Parameters:
(1) serum concentration of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in a hemolyzed blood sample, in ng/mL
(2) reading from Hemocue Plasma Low Hemoglobin point-of-care device on the serum sample in mg/dL
• NSE results were reported as normal or abnormal. An abnormal value suggests brain injury.
• The normal NSE is < 11.5 ng/mL.
Limitation:
• The authors switch between reporting values in mg/mL and mg/dL. mg/mL corresponds to g/L and it is unlikely that a device would measure 3,000 g/L.
• The equation is not accurate when the hemocue reading is > 800 mg/dL.
• The hemocue gave similar readings with visibly normal and visibly hemolyzed specimens (page 261 and Figure 2) which raises questions about what it is measuring.
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