The Effect of Urea/Albumin Ratio on Mortality in the Geriatric Patients Admitted in the Intensive Care Unit.

Objective: To analyse the effect of urea albumin ratio on mortality in intensive care patients aged over 65 years.

Study Design: An observational study. Place and Duration of the Study: Health Sciences University, Ankara Training and Research Hospital, Emergency Critical Intensive Care Unit, from October 2021 to March 2022.

Methodology: Patients over 65 years of age admitted in the intensive care unit were included in this study, and the laboratory and clinical data were recorded within the first 24 hours after the admission of the patient. The urea : albumin ratio was calculated using serum urea and albumin concentrations. All the patients were monitored during intensive care admission and mortality rates were recorded; additionally 1-month mortalities of the patients were also recorded. The data of the survivors and non-survivors were compared.

Results: There were 362 patients with mean age of 79.00±8.40 years; 53.9% were females. The median urea : albumin ratio was found to be 22.8 mg/gr. The area under curve, sensitivity and specificity values were found to be 0.631, 68%, and 56% at a cut-off value of 22.1 mg/gr for urea : albumin ratio, respectively. In addition, urea : albumin ratio >22.1mg/gr was found to be significant in univariate regression analysis (p<0.001) and multivariate regression analysis (p<0.002) for the predictive value of 1-month mortality.

Conclusion: Urea : albumin ratio is a simple and potentially useful prognostic factor in the geriatric patient population admitted in the intensive care unit.

Key Words: Geriatrics intensive care unit, Urea:albumin ratio, Mortality (MeSH database).