US researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have developed a blood test to detect bleeding in infants caused by abusive head trauma or shaken baby syndrome.

Developed to identify acute intracranial haemorrhage, the serum-based test is yet to be validated in a larger population.

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The researchers have partnered with Canada-based molecular diagnostics firm Axela to develop the sensitive test that uses three biomarkers combined with a measure of patient’s haemoglobin level to minimise the risk of missed diagnosis of abusive head trauma. 

Axela’s automated testing system was utilised to simultaneously measure several biomarkers using a very small amount of blood, which is considered to be a test requisite for infants.

The serum samples stored in a databank in the Safar Center were used to establish the Biomarkers for Infant Brain Injury Score (BIBIS), which would determine the infants with or without haemorrhage.

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"It was found that the blood test accurately identified acute intracranial haemorrhage caused due to abusive head trauma in 90% of the cases."

The predictive capacity of the score was then assessed in 599 infants who were prospectively recruited at three study sites in the country. 

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It was found that the blood test accurately identified acute intracranial haemorrhage caused by abusive head trauma in 90% of the cases.

Researchers focused on developing a highly sensitive test, rather than enhancing the accuracy, and this was to avoid the serious consequences of a missed diagnosis.

Infants that tested positive would have to be examined further with brain imaging to identify the source of bleeding.