Association Between Albumin Level at Admission to the Chinese Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and In-Hospital All-Cause Mortality

Objective This study investigated the association between albumin level upon admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)and in-hospital all-cause mortality. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from a large pediatric electronic database that included 9,689 critically ill children. The primary exposure variable was the first albumin level, which was analyzed as a continuous variable, while the outcome variable was in-hospital mortality. Multiple regression was employed to assess the relationship between albumin level and mortality, adjusting for potential confounders, such as length of hospital stay, sex, and other laboratory indicators. Results The results of the study showed that the association between serum albumin levels and the risk of mortality followed a U-shape. The risk of mortality decreased with increasing serum albumin levels (OR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.91, 0.95) in children with serum albumin levels < 34.6 g/L and increased with increasing serum albumin levels (OR = 1.05; 95% CI: 1.002, 1.08) in children with serum albumin levels ≥ 34.6 g/L. Conclusion There was a U-shaped association between serum albumin levels and mortality in critically ill children admitted to the intensive care unit(ICU).