Objective: Prealbumin renamed transthyretin is a protein that is made in the liver and released in the blood and has been used as a beneficial nutritional indicator for long years. It aimed to investigate whether serum prealbumin level is a marker of mortality in patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

Methods: This retrospective and single-center study was carried out at level 3 intensive care unit. Data were collected from hospital electronic records and patient file archives. Patient age, gender, acute physiologic and chronic health evaluation score, nutritional risk screening 2002, nutric score, neutr ophil -lymp hocyt e ratio, need for mechanical ventilation and duration, intensive care unit length of stay, comorbid conditions, the situation of nutrition support, causes of enteral feeding intolerance, the situation of protein and energy intake (7 days), laboratory parameters (included prealbumin (0 and 7 days)) at the time of admission to intensive care unit, and mortality status were recorded. Patients were divided into 2 groups as survivors and non-survivors, and the differences between the 2 groups were analyzed for all parameters.

Results: Sixty-three (60%) were female of 105 patients who participated in this study. The mean age was 59 ± 23 years. The mortality rate was 48.6%. The length of stay in the intensive care unit was 30 ± 34 days. The median level of serum albumin (g/dL) on day 1 was 2.7 (2.3-3.2) and on day 7, it was 2.5 (2.1-2.8). The mean level of serum prealbumin (mg/dL) on day 1 was 13.8 ± 6.6 and on day 7, it was 12.5 ± 6.5. Prealbumin (on days 0 and 7) values were not different between survivors and non-survivors (for all P < .05). In the binary logistic regression analysis, age and albumin value (on day 7) were found to be independent risk factors for mortality (odds ratio: 1.038 (1.002-1.075), P = .036, odds ratio: 1.148 (1.021-1.290), P = .021), respectively.

Conclusions: Prealbumin levels did not differ for critically ill patients with and without mortality.

Keywords: Albumin, intensive care unit, prealbumin, prognosis