Lactate dehydrogenase-to-albumin ratio as a predictor of 28-day mortality in critically Ill patients with gastrointestinal cancers: Insights from machine learning and the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV database

LDAR is a simple, interpretable, and independently prognostic biomarker for 28-day mortality in ICU patients with GI malignancies. Incorporating LDAR into ML models improved discrimination and decision benefit over conventional severity scores, supporting LDAR-based early risk stratification. External multicenter validation and evaluation of dynamic LDAR trajectories are warranted, and transparent analytic reporting.