Efficacy of blood urea nitrogen-to-albumin ratio for predicting prognostic outcomes of inpatients with COVID-19: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: The associations between blood urea nitrogen (BUN)/albumin ratio and poor prognosis in patients with diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain to be clarified. Methods: A search based on 4 electronic databases (i.e., EMBASE, Google scholar, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library) was performed on June 23, 2022. The association of BUN/Albumin ratio with poor prognostic outcomes, defined as patients with mortality/severe illnesses, were analyzed. Results: Results from analysis of 7 cohort studies (3600 individuals with COVID-19) published between 2020 and 2022 showed a higher BUN/Albumin ratio in the poor-prognosis group (Mean difference:  = 2.838, 95% confidence interval: 2.015-3.66, P