Decreasing Procalcitonin and Its Ratio to Albumin Predict Mortality in Patients with Abdominal Sepsis

Abdominal sepsis may act as a life-threatening disease characterized by a dysregulated inflammatory response and nutritional deficits. Given the complex interplay between inflammation and malnutrition, integrating these biomarkers may provide a more comprehensive understanding of patients' outcomes and improve early prognosis in the intensive care unit (ICU). Herein, we report the predictive value of procalcitonin (PCT) and its ratio to albumin (ALB) for mortality of abdominal sepsis patients, aiming to provide more references for clinical disease management.

This is a retrospective study involving one hundred and twenty-four patients diagnosed with abdominal sepsis. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was utilized to analyze the 30- and 90-day mortality of patients. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were conducted to confirm the prognostic factors. In addition, ROC analyses were performed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency.

An 80% decrease of PCT within 4 days was identified as a cutoff to predict the 30-day (P = 0.032) and 90-day mortality (P = 0.030) with the help of Kaplan-Meier analysis. In the multivariate Cox regression analysis, the PCT decrease/ALB was an independent prognostic factor for 30-day mortality (P <0.05) and 90-day mortality (P <0.05) before and after adjustment for age, gender, and BMI. Moreover, ROC analysis revealed the significance of PCT and PCT decrease/ALB in predicting 30-day and 90-day mortality.

In conclusion, the decrease in PCT and the ratio of PCT decrease/ALB are promising biomarkers to predict mortality in patients with abdominal sepsis.