Melis Yağdıran

and 2 more

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is an important public health problem because of its high morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. Many biomarkers have been used to determine the severity and prognosis of pneumonia. Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is a marker of the recently used oxidant-antioxidant mechanism and has been found to increase in many inflammatory conditions. Objectives: To investigate the role of the levels of IMA in CAP and to evaluate its relationship with pneumonia severity. Methods: A total of 150 patients with a diagnosis of CAP and 150 healthy individuals were included in the study. IMA levels were evaluated in both groups. The patients with CAP were divided into ambulatory, ward and intensive care groups, and their IMA levels were compared. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of age or gender (p > 0.05 for both). No significant difference was observed in the IMA levels of the patient and control groups (p ˃ 0.05). The lowest IMA level was observed in the ambulatory group (p = 0.001). When the patients in the ambulatory and hospitalized (ward and intensive care together) groups were evaluated, the cut-off value of IMA was 77.60 ABSU, sensitivity was 64.9%, specificity was 75.0%, positive predictive value was 89.2%, and negative predictive value was 40.3%. Conclusion: In the management of patients with CAP, IMA seems to be a useful marker for CAP severity and hospitalization decision. Keywords: Community-acquired pneumonia, ischemia-modified albumin, biomarker