Effectiveness of Lactate Dehydrogenase to Albumin Ratio in the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Thromboembolism

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study is to inspect effectiveness of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) to albumin ratio (LAR) in patients with pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). Method: A total of 307 patients who admitted to emergency unit, between January 2017 and March 2020, with chest pain and sudden onset of dyspnea were enrolled in this single- center and retrospective study. Computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) was performed to confirm pulmonary embolism. Results: LAR, neutrophil, monocyte, D-dimer, LDH values were significantly higher and albumin values were significantly lower in patients with pulmonary embolism compared to those without. Average age of 307 participants were 68.93 years. While 140 patients had confirmed PTE and 167 were without PTE. Linear regression analysis for LAR in the diagnosis of PTE, revealed a correlation coefficient as r=0.320 (p<0.001). Positive and negative predictive values for LAR in the diagnosisi of PTE were, 63.3% and 75.2%, respectively. In ROC analysis relation of LAR to PTE was found to be stronger than LDH and albumin alone. Conclusion: LAR, which is a very simple and available test, may be used as a novel parameter in the diagnosis of PTE.