Serum Albumin Level as a Predictor of Incidence of Febrile Episodes and Mortality in Hospitalized Geriatric Patients.

概要

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To investigate the relationship between serum albumin level and incidence of febrile episodes and mortality in the elderly, we studied 748 patients hospitalized for over one year. The subjects included 123 males and 355 females with a mean age 81.2 years. The average serum albumin level was 3.79 g/dl and levels of serum albumin decreased with advancing age. The incidence of febrile episodes was 1.8 per year in patients with serum albumin levels over 4.1 g/dl, increasing with decline of serum albumin levels. The incidence of febrile episodes was 5.3 per year in patients with serum albumin levels under 3.0 g/dl. Patients with serum albumin levels under 3.0 g/dl displayed a high incidence of febrile episodes irrespective of age. Age adjusted in-hospital mortality was 40.4% during the observed period in patients with serum albumin levels under 3.0g/dl, significantly higher than that of the patients with serum albumin levels over 3.1 g/dl. Relative risk of febrile episode and mortality calculated using the patients with serum albumin levels over 4.1 g/dl as a control was 2.9 and 2.1, respectively, in the patients with serum albumin levels under 3.0 g/dl.<BR>These results indicate that serum albumin level is a simple, but strong, predictor of susceptibility of febrile episode and death. Patients with serum albumin levels under 3.0 g/dl may constitute a high risk group for febrile episode and death.
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