Correlation of Albumin and D-Dimer with Cognitive Function in traumatic brain injury

Objective: To evaluate the correlation of early serum albumin and D-Dimer levels with cognitive function in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methodology: This prospective observational cohort study was conducted at the Department of Neurosurgery, Unit-I, Punjab Institute of Neurosciences, Lahore, Pakistan, involving patients managed conservatively for mild to moderate traumatic injury from April 2026 to July 2026. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for social sciences (SPSS), version 29. Spearman’s Correlation coefficient were calculated for Serum albumin and D-Dimer with cognitive outcomes whereas Mann-Whitney U-test to compare mean ranks of MoCA-B score among patients with low serum albumin and high D-Dimers. Results: Of the 45 patients included in the study, there were 80% (36) males. The mean age of study participants was 37.1±18.3 years. Most of the patients had mild traumatic brain injury i.e., 62.2% (28). The mean albumin levels were 3.4±0.64 g/dL and D-Dimers was 1.38±1.07 µg/L FEU. The mean score on MoCA B scale was 11.9±13.9 for patients with TBI. Almost 37.8% (17) patients had normal cognition, 4.4% (2) had mild cognitive impairment and 57.8% (26) patients had severe cognitive impairment. Mann-Whitney U-test revealed higher mean ranks for MoCA-B score in patients with normal albumin levels (p=0.069) and patients with elevated D-Dimer levels had lower mean ranks for cognition score on MoCA-B (p=0.556). Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed no significant correlation of serum albumin and D-Dimer values with cognitive functions in traumatic brain injury i.e., r=0.215, p=0.157 and -0.1866, p=0.222. Conclusion: TBI patients with normal serum albumin had a better cognitive performance when compared with hypoalbuminemia patients. However, serum albumin and D-Dimers are not correlated as standalone biomarkers in TBI.