Serum Albumin Levels as an Independent Predictor of Hospital Mortality in COVID-19 Pneumonia

Abstract

Background and aim: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with a systemic inflammatory state responsible for disease progression. This study was conducted to researched the link between inflammatory markers and radiologic, clinical severity and hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods: Cases diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia by SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test and radiological imaging and hospitalized and treated were included in the study retrospectively. The connection between the clinical severity of the disease, its radiological extent, and inflammation markers [CRP, procalcitonin (PCT), Red cell distribution width, fibrinogen, ferritin, albumin, platelet- to lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil- to- lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and lymphocyte-to- monocyte ratio] and hospital mortality were investigated. Results: 200 patients (mean age, 56.7 ± 16 years, 113 male) hospitalized with the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia were included in the study. The median duration of hospital stay was eight days. The in-hospital mortality was 16. 5 %. Variables (p<0.1) included in the univariate analysis were age, pneumonia severity index (PSI), PCT, ferritin, albumin, CRP, Chest CT Severity Score (CT-SS), NLR, and lymphocyte count. Subsequent multivariate analysis suggested that albumin levels (p=0.018), CT-SS (p=0.015), and pneumonia severity index (PSI) (p=0.012) were independently related to hospital mortality. Conclusion: Serum albumin levels can predict hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Keywords

• : inflammatory markers
• hospital mortality
• COVID-19 pneumonia

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