Table 1.
Baseline patient characteristics of recipients of 4 versus 20% versus combined (4 + 20%) albumin
| Characteristic | Albumin 4% only | Albumin 20% only |
Combined 4 and 20% |
p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number (unless indicated, n) | 345 (45) | 155 (20) | 271 (35) | |
| Age, mean (SE), years | 66 (13.7) | 64 (14.0) | 63 (15.0) | 0.14 |
| Male gender, n (%) | 238 (69) | 111 (72) | 169 (63) | 0.09 |
| Weight, mean (SD), kg | 81 (13.1) | 81 (12.8) | 81 (13.1) | 0.95 |
| APACHE III score, mean (SD)§ | 103 (28) | 100 (23) | 103 (25) | 0.54 |
| Creatinine pre-randomization (SD)†, µmol/L | 313 (l72) | 315 (173) | 282 (145) | 0.03 |
| eGFR, mean (SD) (n = 81) | 58 (33) | 64 (32) | 59 (26) | 0.30 |
| eGFR group, n (%) | n = 196 | n = 90 | n = 139 | |
| <30 mL/min | 39 (20) | 11 (12) | 17 (12) | |
| 30 to <46 mL/min | 38 (19) | 15 (17) | 25 (18) | 0.42 |
| 46 to <60 mL/min | 37 (19) | 18 (20) | 31 (22) | |
| ≥60 mL/min | 82 (42) | 46 (51) | 66 (47) | |
| BUN, mean (SD)††, mmol/L | 23 (12.7) | 24 (12.3) | 22 (11.6) | 0.22 |
| Plasma albumin, mean (SD), g/L | 27 (7.3) | 24 (6.4) | 24 (7.1) | <0.001 |
| pH, mean (SD) | 7.25 (0.14) | 7.31 (0.11) | 7.27 (0.12) | <0.001 |
| Bicarbonate, mean (SD), mmol/L | 18.2 (6.5) | 20.3 (5.6) | 18.6 (5.5) | 0.001 |
| Base excess, mean (SD), mmol/L | −8.4 (7.4) | −5.7 (6.5) | −7.7 (6.6) | <0.001 |
| Mechanical ventilation, n (%) | 275 (80) | 115 (74) | 221 (82) | 0.19 |
| SOFA score, mean (SD)¶ | ||||
| Cardiovascular, N = 769 | 3.0 (1.4) | 2.9 (1.5) | 3.3 (1.3) | 0.02 |
| Respiratory, N = 755 | 2.9 (0.9) | 2.7 (1.0) | 2.9 (0.9) | 0.04 |
| Coagulation, N = 767 | 1.0 (1.1) | 1.1 (1.1) | 1.1 (1.3) | 0.60 |
| Liver, N = 738 | 0.9 (1.0) | 1.3 (1.3) | 1.2 (1.2) | <0.001 |
| Source of admission | ||||
| Emergency department | 85 (25) | 28 (18) | 53 (20) | |
| Hospital ward | 87 (25) | 46 (30) | 63 (23) | |
| Transfer from another ICU | 33 (9.6) | 11 (7.1) | 28 (10) | |
| Transfer from another hospital | 32 (9.3) | 12 (7.7) | 22 (8.1) | 0.12 |
| OR after emergency surgery | 51 (15) | 18 (12) | 49 (18) | |
| OR after elective surgery | 37 (11) | 19 (12) | 36 (13) | |
| Unknown | 20 (5.8) | 21 (14) | 20 (7.4) | |
| Severe sepsis, n (%) | 165 (48) | 93 (60) | 159 (59) | 0.01 |
| Admission diagnostic group, n (%) | ||||
| Non-operative | 236 (68) | 112 (72) | 174 (64) | |
| Cardiovascular | 131 (38) | 61 (39) | 101 (37) | |
| Genitourinary | 38 (11) | 22 (14) | 27 (10) | |
| Respiratory | 36 (10) | 18 (12) | 26 (9.6) | |
| Gastrointestinal | 14 (4.1) | 7 (4.5) | 11 (4.1) | |
| Other | 17 (4.9) | 4 (2.6) | 9 (3.3) | 0.32 |
| Operative | 109 (32) | 43 (28) | 97 (36) | |
| Cardiovascular | 77 (22) | 27 (17) | 55 (20) | |
| Gastrointestinal | 24 (7.0) | 10 (6.5) | 31 (11) | |
| Trauma | 3 (0.9) | 0 | 6 (2.2) | |
| Other | 5 (1.4) | 6 (3.9) | 5 (1.8) | |
| Criteria for randomization◊ | ||||
| Oliguria (<400 mL/day) | 221 (64) | 80 (52) | 139 (51) | 0.002 |
| Hyperkalaemia | 25 (7.3) | 8 (5.2) | 12 (4.4) | 0.31 |
| Severe acidaemia | 128 (37) | 36 (23) | 88 (32) | 0.01 |
| BUN >70 mg/dL | 129 (37) | 68 (44) | 109 (40) | 0.38 |
| (Urea >25 mmol/L) | ||||
| Creatinine >3.4 mg/dL | 152 (44) | 68 (44) | 99 (37) | 0.13 |
| (300 µmol/L) | ||||
| Severe organ oedema with AKI | 134 (39) | 82 (53) | 150 (55) | <0.001 |
| Randomized to high intensity continuous RRT, n (%) | 175 (50.7) | 75 (48.4) | 136 (50.2) | 0.89 |
APACHE, Acute Physiology Assessment and Chronic Health Evaluation; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; OR, odds ratio; SOFA, sequential organ failure assessment; RRT, renal replacement therapy; AKI, acute kidney injury; ICU, intensive care unit.
APACHE III scores range from 0 to 299, with higher scores indicating more severe illness.
To convert the values for creatinine to milligrams per decilitre, divide by 88.4.
To convert the values for BUN to milligrams per decilitre, divide by 0.357.
SOFA scores range from 0 to 4, with a higher score indicating more severe organ dysfunction.
A given patient may have met more than 1 of these criteria.