Hypoalbuminemia and its Relation with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and In-Hospital Mortality in Intensive Care Unit patients

Objective: To evaluate the association of hypoalbuminemia with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), in-hospital mortality and length of hospital stay in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and to determine the relation of ARDS with demographics and worst clinical outcomes. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was done at the Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital, Islamabad after ethical approval. The study duration was 8 months from March 2024 to October 2024. After taking informed consent from patients or their attendants, 350 patients admitted to the medical ICU were included using non-probability convenience sampling technique. The demographic details of the patients, their co-morbidities and primary diagnoses were noted. The serum samples of the patients were sent to the laboratory for estimation of serum albumin levels. Patients were allocated to group I having serum albumin <3.5 mg/dl (n=210) and Group II with serum albumin levels >3.5 mg/dl (n=140). The outcomes assessed were the frequency of ARDS, length of ICU stay, and in-hospital mortality. The statistical analysis was done by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Results: Out of 350 patients, 136(38.9%) developed ARDS; 34.3% had low albumin levels whereas, only 4.6% had normal serum albumin. In-hospital mortality occurred in 30% of the patients, out of which 20.3% and 9.7% of the patients had low and normal serum albumin, respectively. The mean length of ICU stay was 12.2±1.4 days and 8.9±2.5 days in group I and group II, respectively. These findings were statistically significant. Acute respiratory distress syndrome has a significant association with age, risk factors, serum albumin levels, length of ICU stay, and in-hospital mortality. Conclusion: Acute respiratory distress syndrome, in-hospital mortality, and length of hospital stay have a significant relation with hypoalbuminemia in ICU patients. There was a significant association of acute respiratory distress syndrome with advanced age, risk factors, in-hospital mortality, and length of hospital stay.