Pneumonia risk prediction in patients with acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome through evaluation of sarcopenia index as a prognostic factor

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to explore the relationship between the sarcopenia index (SI) and the risk of pneumonia in hospitalized patients with acute alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). Study design We have performed a retrospective study of individuals with AWS from a teaching hospital in western China. Patients' data were retrieved from the medicinal record databases. Patients' primary (upon admission) blood serum creatinine (Cr) and cystatin C (CysC) levels were incorporated into the records. Participants were separated into low and high SI cohorts based on the three-quarter digit of SI (SI = serum Cr/serum CysC ratio × 100). The association between SI and the risk of pneumonia in hospitalized patients with AWS was assessed by logistic regression analysis. Result Three hundred and twelve patients with acute AWS were included in this retrospective analysis. Among hospitalized patients with acute AWS, the incidence of pneumonia was 13.78%. The average median age of acute AWS patients with pneumonia was 55.28 (10.65) years, and the mean age of acute AWS individuals without pneumonia was 51.23 (10.08) years. In the univariate analysis, the high SI group (SI > 87.91) had a lower incidence of pneumonia than the low SI group (SI ≤ 87.91) (high SI vs. low SI, 6.41% vs. 16.24%, p = 0.029). Further logistic regression analysis showed that the high SI group demonstrated a poorer risk of pneumonia (OR = 0.353, 95%CI: 0.134–0.932, p = 0.036). After adjusting for possible confounders, the risk of pneumonia remained low in the high SI group (OR = 0.358, 95%CI: 0.132–0.968, p = 0.043). Conclusion Our results showed that SI was linked with the risk of pneumonia in hospitalized individuals with acute AWS. We further suggest that it could be a pneumonia risk factor, especially in medical centers where sarcopenia diagnosis is unavailable.