Serum CCL23 emerges as a biomarker for poor prognosis in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage

CCL23 is involved in the inflammatory response and associated with the progression of brain injury. Herein, we assessed the relationship between serum CCL23 levels and inflammation, hematoma severity, and unfavorable outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). In this prospective observational study of 94 ICH patients and 47 controls, serum CCL23 levels were measured. Hemorrhage severity was reflected by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and hematoma volume. An unfavorable outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale > 2 at 6 months after ICH. Its association with clinical outcome was confirmed using the binary logistic regression analysis. Predictive efficiency was verified under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Significantly increased serum CCL23 levels were observed in ICH patients, as compared to controls. Serum CCL23 levels were highly related to NIHSS score, hematoma volume, ICH score, Glasgow coma scale score, serum C-reactive protein levels, blood leucocyte count, and neutrophil count. CCL23 ≥ 62.95 pg/ml served as an independent predictor of 6-month unfavorable outcome and death, and its validity was confirmed by ROC analysis. CCL23 may be implicated in the inflammatory response and serve as a potential marker for predicting the prognosis of patients with ICH.