The plasma mitochondrial DNA is an independent predictor for post-traumatic systemic inflammatory response syndrome

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), a newly identified damage-associated molecular pattern, has been observed in trauma patients, however, little is known concerning the relationship between plasma mtDNA levels and concrete post-traumatic complications, particularly systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). The aim of this study is to determine whether plasma mtDNA levels are associated with injury severity and cloud predict post-traumatic SIRS in patients with acute traumatic injury. Eighty-six consecutive patients with acute traumatic injury were prospectively enrolled in this study. The plasma mtDNA concentration was measured by a real-time, quantitative PCR assay for the human ND2 gene. The study population's clinical and laboratory data were analyzed. The median plasma mtDNA was higher in trauma patients than in healthy controls (865.196 (251.042-2565.40)pg/ml vs 64.2147 (43.9049-80.6371)pg/ml, P