Clinical application, diagnostic performance, and practical utility of blood-based brain biomarkers.

This video reviews the clinical application, diagnostic performance, and practical utility of blood-based brain biomarkers in the evaluation of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) patients. Dr. Sloan explains the FDA-cleared GFAP and UCH-L1 testing platforms, patient selection criteria, biomarker cutoffs, test sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value, as well as the clinical implications of false-negative and false-positive biomarker results identified in major clinical trials including ALERT-TBI. By watching this video segment, the clinician will also learn of the practical use of biomarkers in conjunction with clinical decision rules to safely reduce unnecessary non-contrast head CT (NCCT) neuroimaging, and how this lab testing may improve Emergency Department throughput, reduce radiation exposure, and enhance operational efficiency while maintaining patient safety in carefully selected low-risk mTBI patients. Clinical Imperative When evaluating patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), clinicians face two critical clinical questions: “Can a low-risk mTBI patient be safely evaluated without the use of a non-contrast head CT (NCCT) through the use of clinical decision tools and brain biomarker testing?” and “If brain biomarker testing is falsely negative and an intracranial lesion is subsequently detected on NCCT, what is the clinical significance of that lesion for both the patient and the treating clinician?” This is a presentation about Brain Biomarkers from FERNE.org and Edward Sloan, MD, MPH, FACEP May 20, 2026.