Could Basal Uric Acid Levels Be an Important Biomarker for Prediction of Acute Renal Injury in Patients With Sepsis in the Intensive Care Unit?

Sepsis is an important risk factor for the development of acute renal injury (ARI) among patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). There are limited studies showing that increased uric acid level is an important risk factor for the development of ARI. The present study was carried out to find out whether increased basal uric acid levels play an important role in predicting the development of ARI and whether it could be used as a biomarker for this.

This retrospective study included patients aged ≥ 18 years who were admitted to the ICU of Yüzüncü Yıl University Medical Faculty Hospital from September 2018 to December 2020. Group 1 comprised 100 patients developing ARI and group 2 comprised 110 patients who did not develop ARI. Laboratory test values and Simplified Acute Physiologic Score II (SAPS II) data on the first day of ICU admission were obtained from archive records.

During the 10-day follow-up of patients included in the study, the ARI development rate was 57.3%. Basal serum uric acid levels were higher in group 1 compared to group 2 (P = 0.001). Based on the results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis, basal serum uric acid values and albumin and SAPS II values had independent correlations with ARI (P < 0.001).

We believe that increased basal uric acid levels examined in patients admitted to the ICU with sepsis diagnosis may be an important biomarker for the prediction of ARI.