An investigation of procalcitonin/albumin ratio as a predictor of mortality in patients with sepsis

Aim: Sepsis is a condition that results in mortality as a result of multiorgan failure associated with infection. Therefore, a number of parameters are used to determine the prognosis of sepsis. Accordingly, the ratio of procalcitonin and albumin found recent use for the above purpose. The present study aimed to investigate the value of the procalcitonin/albumin ratio to determine the prognosis of sepsis patients. Material and Methods: The present study was designed as a single -center, prospective research. The study included patients admitted to the intensive care unit upon diagnosed with pneumosepsis and met the inclusion criteria. Patients with pneumonic infiltration in the lungs supported by computed tomography images and a qSOFA score >= 2 were considered to have pneumosepsis. Results: The present study included 299 patients, who were admitted to the intensive care unit upon pneumosepsis diagnosis. The procalcitonin/albumin ratio in the mortality group and survivors was 0.42 and 0.004, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity for mortality were 87.4% and 77.6%, respectively, for a cut-off value of 0.010 for the procalcitonin/albumin ratio. Discussion: The results of the present study were indicative of the fact that elevated procalcitonin/albumin ratio was significant in predicting prognosis in patients, who were admitted to the intensive care unit upon pneumosepsis diagnosis. This suggested that procalcitonin/albumin ratio might serve as a prognostic indicator on the grounds that the severity of sepsis was associated with the change in acute phase reactants.