The impact of serum albumin on the mortality prediction in COVID patients at a private hospital in Madurai

Abstract

Background: The objective of the study was to identify the serum albumin levels and their correlation with the length of hospital stay and mortality in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. To achieve this, we studied the correlation between serum albumin levels to the length of hospital stay and mortality outcomes. Materials and Methods: It is a retrospective observational study in which information about COVID-19 patients admitted to a private hospital in Madurai was collected between March 2021 and August 2021. The time from admission to discharge of patients and mortality outcomes was taken into account. Results: A total of 176 COVID-19 patients were included, of which 150 patients (85%) recovered and 26 patients (15%) died during the hospital admission. The median length of hospital stays of COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized and discharged alive was found to be 8.5 ± 4.6 days by the Kaplan–Meier curve. The mean albumin levels in alive patients were found to be 3.5 ± 0.37 g/dl compared to expired COVID-19 patients with low albumin levels of 3.3 ± 043 g/dl. Hence, we conclude that serum albumin levels had an impact on the outcome and hospital stay. Conclusion: Serum albumin levels at admission might reflect the severity of infection and thus can serve as a predictive factor for COVID-19 outcomes.

Keywords

• coronavirus disease 2019
• kaplan–meier
• length of stay
• mortality
• serum albumin