Evaluation of Serum Ischemia Modified Albumin in Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Introduction: Various biomarkers are used when evaluating the hospitalization needs of patients diagnosed with Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is a biomarker that causes blood levels to increase as a result of hypoxia and acidosis. We think that an increase in IMA in the blood may be caused by hypoxia stemming from lung damage. This study aimed to compare the mean/median of the blood IMA value in patients with pneumonia due to COVID-19 infection with a control group. Methods: The case group included patients with COVID-19 pneumonia detected by lung imaging and a positive COVID test. Demographic information of the case group, the severity of pneumonia, and their PCR test results were recorded in the data set.Findings: A total of 150 people, 90 of whom were in the case group and 60 of whom were in the control group, participated in the study. No statistically significant differences were found between the blood IMA levels of the case group and the control group. When the blood IMA levels of the case group were compared according to pneumonia severity, no statistically significant differences were found between the mild-moderate and severe pneumonia groups.Conclusion: Blood IMA levels are not a diagnostic biomarker for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and are not helpful in predicting the severity of pneumonia.

The relationship between ischemia-modified albumin/albumin ratio levels and disease severity in COVID-19 patients

“…Altıntaş et al [19] could not find a statistically significant difference between the patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and the control group in terms of blood IMA levels. When blood IMA levels were compared according to the severity of pneumonia, any statistically significant difference could not be found between mild-moderate and severe pneumonia groups.…”

“…When blood IMA levels were compared according to the severity of pneumonia, any statistically significant difference could not be found between mild-moderate and severe pneumonia groups. However, patients with lung involvement were included in both groups, and it was reported that no differ-ence was found between mild-moderate and severe groups due to the classification difference between studies [19]. Yıldız et al [20] compared IMA levels of COVID-19 patients with and without lung involvement.…”

Analysis of Ischemia-Modified Albumin (IMA) and Coagulation Parameters in Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia

“…In Yucel et al’s study with 70 patients in the ICU, the serum IMA levels were determined to be significantly higher compared to the healthy control group [ 27 ]. However, in the study of Altıntas et al, no significant difference was determined in the serum IMA levels between the COVID-19 and the control groups [ 28 ]. Many studies have shown that increasing IMA levels contribute to our knowledge about the biomarkers in the pathophysiology of COVID-19, enabling the detection and early diagnosis of pneumonic involvement.…”

“…Acar et al’s study shows that the levels of IMA can be utilized for risk stratification and estimation of mortality in severe COVID-19 pneumonia patients admitted to the emergency unit [ 26 ]. In the study of Altıntas et al, no significant difference was found between mild-moderate and severe pneumonia groups and serum IMA levels in COVID-19 patients [ 28 ]. In another study, the severity of pneumonia was separated into three groups as mild, moderate, and severe/critical in 95 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 pneumonia, and although the degree of the disease and the level of IMA increased, statistical significance was not found [ 29 ].…”