The Role of Serum Albumin and Blood Urea Nitrogen to Serum Albumin Ratio
in Prediction of Disease Severity and Thirty--day Mortality in Patients
with COVID--19
Abstract
Background: Considering the role of higher blood urea nitrogen and lower
serum albumin (SA) levels in deceased COVID-19 patients, increased blood
urea nitrogen to SA (B/A) ratio may help to determine those at higher
risk of becoming critically ill. This study evaluated the association of
SA level and B/A ratio with disease severity and 30–day mortality and
also their predictive value for disease severity in COVID–19 patients.
Methods: 433 adult patients with COVID–19, admitted to a referral
medical center in Tehran, Iran, from February to May 2020 were included.
The laboratory markers were measured on admission. Disease severity was
categorized into mild disease, severe pneumonia, acute respiratory
distress syndrome (ARDS), sepsis, and septic shock. The mortality was
followed up for thirty days after admission. Results: Thirty–day
mortality rate was 27.25%. The frequency of mild, severe pneumonia,
ARDS, sepsis, and septic shock was 30.72%, 36.95%, 24.02%, 6.00%,
and 2.31%, respectively. Mean B/A ratio was different among different
disease severities. The odds of thirty-day mortality increased by 16%
by each unit increase in B/A ratio and decreased by 57% by each unit
increase in SA level. B/A ratio had the AUC of 0.45 for disease severity
prediction with 71% sensitivity and 22% specificity. Conclusion: The
results showed that B/A ratio and SA levels are associated with
mortality in COVID–19 patient, while they had low predictive value for
disease severity. High B/A ratio is, additionally, associated with
disease severity. Therefore, we suggest to use this marker for clinical
assessment of patients with COVID–19.