Anamnestic and laboratory characteristics of patients divided according to the different levels of albumin recorded at the first evaluation in the ED
| Serum albumin levels in the ED | ≥3.5 /dL | 3–3.49 g/dL | <3 /dL | P value |
| Patients, n (%) | 177 (59.8) | 89 (30.1) | 30 (10.1) | |
| Age, years, median (IQR) | 62 (53–75) | 75 (69–85) | 78 (69–81) | <0.001* |
| Gender, n (%) | 0.015† | |||
| Male | 105 (59.3) | 68 (76.4) | 18 (60.0) | |
| Female | 72 (40.7) | 21 (23.6) | 12 (40.0) | |
| Clinical history, n (%) | ||||
| Ischaemic heart disease | 14 (7.9) | 14 (15.7) | 5 (16.7) | 0.096† |
| Hypertension | 92 (52.0) | 62 (69.7) | 19 (63.3) | 0.019† |
| Chronic heart failure | 10 (5.6) | 10 (11.2) | 6 (20.0) | 0.023† |
| Atrial fibrillation | 21 (11.9) | 27 (30.3) | 7 (23.3) | 0.001† |
| Diabetes mellitus | 16 (9.0) | 20 (22.5) | 8 (26.7) | 0.002† |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 12 (6.8) | 15 (16.9) | 6 (20.0) | 0.013† |
| Vascular disease | 10 (5.6) | 10 (11.2) | 2 (6.7) | 0.257† |
| Stroke/transient ischaemic attack history | 8 (4.5) | 10 (11.2) | 5 (16.7) | 0.025† |
| Chronic kidney disease | 11 (6.2) | 16 (18.0) | 6 (20.0) | 0.004† |
| Chronic neurological disease | 9 (5.1) | 10 (11.2) | 4 (13.3) | 0.102† |
| Cancer | 23 (13.0) | 12 (13.5) | 4 (13.3) | 0.993† |
| Comorbidity, n (%) | ||||
| At least one chronic disease | 114 (64.4) | 74 (83.1) | 22 (73.3) | 0.006† |
| Two or more chronic diseases | 61 (34.5) | 61 (68.5) | 18 (60.0) | <0.001† |
| Laboratory findings, median (IQR) | ||||
| Haemoglobin (g/dL) | 14.1 (12.7–15.2) | 13.9 (12.4–15.3) | 13.0 (11.7–14.1) | 0.008* |
| Haematocrit (%) | 43.0 (39.1–45.3) | 42.1 (38.0–45.8) | 39.8 (35.9–41.3) | <0.001* |
| Platelet counts (×1000/µL) | 205 (160–261) | 198 (144–258) | 193 (152–272) | 0.560* |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 0.9 (0.8–1.3) | 1.1 (0.8–1.3) | 0.9 (0.7–1.8) | 0.012* |
| Leucocytes (×1000/µL) | 6.1 (4.8–8.1) | 7.1 (5.2–9.3) | 6.7 (5.6–10.9) | 0.123* |
| C reactive protein (mg/dL) | 3.9 (1.2–8.7) | 8.7 (4.9–15.1) | 12.2 (6.9–21.5) | <0.001* |
| Alanine aminotransferase, U/L | 28 (20–41) | 34 (23–47) | 37 (25–60) | 0.050* |
| Aspartate aminotransferase, U/L | 33 (23–47) | 39 (28–67) | 49 (35–65) | 0.004* |
*Kruskall-Wallis test.
†χ2 test.