Serum Albumin Role as a Prognostic Biomarker of Radiological Gonarthrosis Progression: A Retrospective...

To evaluate the prognostic role of serum albumin level in the radiological progression of gonarthrosis.

Two hundered and fifty patients with gonarthrosis (Group1: early stage gonarthrosis, Group 2: late-stage gonarthrosis), and 125 patients as a control group (Group 3) were included in this retrospective cross-sectional study. Age, gender, the Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) stage, serum albumin level, C-reactive protein (CRP)/albumin, platelet/lymphocyte, neutrophil/lymphocyte, lymphocyte/monocyte, lymphocyte/CRP, The Aggregate Index of Systemic Inflammation, Systemic Inflammatory Response Index, Systemic Immune Inflammation Index, Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), Modified Systemic Inflammation Score (mSIS) were recorded.

Albumin and PNI were lower compared to the Group 3 in the Group 1 and Group 2, and compared to the Group 1 in the Group 2 (for all p ≤ 0.001). mSIS was higher in the Group 1 and Group 2 compared to the Group 3 (p < 0.001 for both), and in the Group 2 compared to the Group 1 (p = 0.01). CRP/albumin was higher in Group 2 compared to Group 1 (p = 0.004). KL stage was moderately negatively correlated with albumin (r = -0.45 p < 0,001) and PNI (r = -0.40 p < 0.001). Albumin and PNI values ​have diagnostic value in predicting early-stage (the cut-off value for albumin: 40.05 g/L, for PNI: 52.28) and late-stage (the cut-off value for albumin: 39.35 g/L, for PNI: 51.03) gonarthrosis in patients without gonarthrosis and late-stage gonarthrosis in patients with early-stage gonarthrosis (the cut-off value for albumin level: 38.55 g/L, for PNI: 49.73).

Serum albumin level has a prognostic role in the radiological progression of gonarthrosis.