Abstract
Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause significant changes in serum biomarkers. C-reactive protein (CRP) and albumin (Alb) are proteins that can serve as potential markers of systemic inflammation. This study aimed to investigate CRP levels and the CRP/Alb ratio among hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 114 patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan, Iran, between 2021 and 2022. After checking the inclusion and exclusion criteria, demographic variables such as age, sex, and education level were collected, along with clinical data, including the number of days since symptom onset, length of hospitalization, initial oxygen saturation, severity of lung involvement, CRP, albumin, and the CRP/Alb ratio. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.
Results: The mean age of participants in this study was 60.36±16.37 years, with 63% being men. The mean first-day CRP level was 55.59±33.81. The mean CRP/Alb ratio in all patients was 17.31±11.60. In the group with severe lung involvement, the mean CRP/Alb ratio and Alb level were 22.99±11.27 and 3.14±0.46, respectively. Patients with severe lung involvement exhibited significant clinical and statistical differences in CRP/Alb ratio and albumin and CRP levels compared with those with mild or moderate lung involvement (P<0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that baseline CRP/Alb ratio had a moderate predictive performance for 28-day mortality (AUC: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.587-0.853).
Conclusion: The results showed that the CRP/Alb ratio can be a useful prognostic marker in patients with COVID-19. Further studies are needed to evaluate the prognostic value of this index in patients with COVID-19 and other diseases.