Abstract:Objective To analyze the clinical value of serum levels of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) for predicting the prognosis of patients with severe craniocerebral injury(SCCI). Methods Seventy-eight SCCI patients admitted in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from January 2015 to June 2016 were selected as research objects. According to Glasgow coma scale (GCS), the patients were divided into mild group (n=41，GCS score＜9) and severe group (n=37，GCS score≥9). According to Glasgow prognostic score (GOS), the patients were divided into poor prognosis group (n=20，GCS score was 1-3). and good prognosis group(n=17，GCS score was 4-5) during the follow-up period of 6 months. Solid-phase sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect serum NGAL level. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect serum UCH-L1 level. Pearson linear regression analysiswas used to analyze the associations of serum NGAL and UCH-L1 levels with the prognosis of neurological functions. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors of poor outcome of neurological functions. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to judge the diagnostic capability of serum NGAL and UCH-L1 levels for poor outcome of neurological functions. Results Serum NGAL and UCH-L1 levels in severe group were significantly higher than those in mild group (all P<0.01). During the follow-up period of 6 months, serum NGAL and UCH-L1 levels in poor prognosis group were significantly higher than those in good prognosis group(all P<0.01). Pearson linear regression analysis showed that serum NGAL and UCH-L1 levels were respectively positively correlated with outcome of neurological functions(r=0.852, P=0.011; r=0.713,P=0.023). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the serum levels of NGAL(OR=3. 425,P=0.026) and UCH-L1(OR=2.698,P=0.038) were the risk factors of poor neurological function outcome. When the cut-off points of serum NGAL and UCH-L1 were 185 ng/ml and 16. 5 ng/ml in ROC curve, the sensitivity and the specificity were respectively 86.9% and89.5% for predicting poor neurologic function outcome of SCCI patients. Conclusion Serum NGAL and UCH-L1 levels can early assess the degree of brain injury and can be used for the assessment of short-term prognosis.