Albumin Level at Admission to the Intensive Care Unit Is Associated With Prognosis in Cardiac Arrest Patients

Aim Cardiac arrest is a global health concern with consistently high mortality. It is also a common condition seen in the intensive care unit (ICU). We aimed to investigate the importance of albumin level on admission, which is a widely available and simple test, to predict in-hospital mortality in cardiac arrest patients. Methods The retrospective study collected data from the eICU Collaborative Research Database. It contains data from 171 hospitals, 276 ICU wards, and 4,529 patients who were treated for cardiac arrest from 2014 to 2015. We analyzed the patients’ laboratory results and vital signs during the first 24 hours after admission to the ICU. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and the secondary outcome was the length of ICU stay among survivors. Results In total, 2,414 patients were eligible. After adjusting for severity scores, including the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) IV and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores, serum albumin was found to be a protective factor for survival (odds ratio of mortality: 0635, 95% confidence interval: 0.458-0.734, P<0.001). Among patients who survived until discharge, those with hypoalbuminemia had a long duration of stay in the ICU (P=0.005). Conclusion The higher albumin level at admission to the ICU was associated with lower mortality in patients with cardiac arrest.