PROGNOSTIC ROLE OF SERUM-ALBUMIN AND PREALBUMIN LEVELS IN ELDERLY PATIENTS AT ADMISSION TO A GERIATRIC HOSPITAL

The incidence of biological malnutrition is very high in geriatric hospitalized patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the nutritional status of elderly patients at the time of hospital admission in an effort to identify variables which influence the outcome of hospital stay. Forty-six percent (244/552) of the admitted patients had a serum albumin level less than 35 g/l. Cancer patients had a significantly (p < 0.0001) lower serum albumin and prealbumin values than other patients. The patients, who died, had even lower albumin values as compared to the cancer patients. None of the studied nutritional and social parameters showed correlation with the length of hospital stay in any group of patients. No significant correlation could be found between age and nutritional values. No significant correlation could be established between the social parameters and nutritional variables. By using variance analysis statistically significant association was found between cancer and serum albumin (p < 0.0001) as well as between the death occurring during the hospital stay and nutritional values (p < 0.0001). By the discriminant analysis model, the mortality during hospital stay could be predicted with 78.8% certainty when the presence of cancer, the albumin and prealbumin values were known. In addition, cancer status may be suspected in the case of low nutritional values at admission in these elderly patients. Our results indicate that by the measurement of these simple parameters an accurate prediction can be achieved in the prognosis of hospitalized geriatric patients already at the time of admission.