Albumin Levels as Prognostic Markers in ICU Mortality.

Objective: To evaluate the association of serum albumin levels with short-term mortality in ICU patients, including ICU and 28-day mortality.

Study Design: Observational study. Place and Duration of the Study: Intensive Care Unit, Izmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkiye, from January to July 2023.

Methodology: The study included 60 patients aged above 18 years who had stayed in the ICU for at least two days. Exclusion criteria were massive transfusion within the last 48 hours, septic shock with fluid resuscitation, liver failure at admission, end-stage renal disease, proteinuria, and BMI <18.5. The primary outcome included ICU mortality and 28-day mortality. Normality was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk's test. A comparison between the quantitative data of the two studied groups was made with the independent samples t-test for normal distribution and for skewed data using the Mann-Whitney U test. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: There was a significant association of both APACHE-II scores with ICU and 28-day mortality besides age and serum albumin level. In the binary logistic regression analysis, a statistically significant correlation was found between the albumin level at 48-hour and 28-day mortality (p <0.001).

Conclusion: Serum albumin levels at 48 hours post-admission were independent predictors of 28-day mortality.

Key Words: Albumin, Critical care, Mortality.