Research Article: Validation of blood-based indices associated with sarcopenia for the prediction of pneumonia and delirium in patients with acute withdrawal from excessive alcohol consumption
Abstract:
This study aimed to explore the hematology-derived relationship between the blood-based indices associated with sarcopenia including the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and serum AST/ALT ratio, and the risk of pneumonia and delirium among hospitalized patients experiencing acute withdrawal from excessive alcohol consumption.
For this retrospective study, patients experiencing acute withdrawal from excessive alcohol consumption who underwent inpatient treatment at a psychiatric teaching hospital in western China between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2023 were analyzed. Patient-related data were accessed through an electronic medical record database, and logistic regression analyses were used to explore the relationship between the blood-based indices associated with sarcopenia and the risk of developing pneumonia and delirium in this population.
This study enrolled 553 patients. The incidence of pneumonia and delirium in this group of patients was 13.74%. AST/ALT ratios were significantly higher in patients with pneumonia relative to non-pneumonia patients (P<0.001) and in those with delirium versus those with no delirium (P<0.01); compared with the low AST/ALT group, the high AST/ALT group had a higher prevalence of pneumonia (21.90% vs. 11.06%, P<0.01) and delirium (20.44% vs. 11.54%, P<0.05). When the AST/ALT was used as a categorical variable, after adjustment for confounding factors, logistic regression showed that the high AST/ALT group had a higher risk of pneumonia (OR = 1.91, 95%CI: 1.09-3.34) and delirium (OR = 1.92, 95%CI: 1.03-3.58) than the low-AST/ALT group. When the AST/ALT were used as continuous variables, after adjustment for potential risk factors, logistic regression showed that higher AST/ALT was associated with a greater risk of both pneumonia and delirium (pneumonia, OR = 1.48, 95%CI: 1.10-2.00; delirium, OR = 1.58, 95%CI: 1.14-2.19). However, NLR and PLR were not associated with a risk of pneumonia and delirium.
These results suggest that in patients with a history of excessive alcohol consumption and hospitalization for acute alcohol withdrawal, the AST/ALT ratio is associated with increased risk of both pneumonia and delirium, while NLR and PLR are not.
Introduction:
Acute alcohol withdrawal is a serious condition associated with both increased morbidity and mortality, and places a heavy burden on acute healthcare services ( 1 ). Pneumonia is one of the major reasons why patients with acute alcohol withdrawal seek medical attention in both outpatient and inpatient settings ( 2 ). Our earlier research observed a pneumonia incidence of 13.78% in hospitalized patients with acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome ( 3 ). A study by Ahmed et al. found that trauma patients undergoing acute…
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