Objective Calcium plays an important role in almost all cellular processes. Measurement of ionized calcium levels is more important in demonstrating calcium metabolism. Tight control of calcium metabolism is impaired during sepsis. However, the prognostic significance of ionized calcium levels in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to sepsis is not fully known. The aim of our study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of ionized calcium levels in patients admitted to the ICU due to sepsis. Material and methods A total of 228 patients who were admitted to the emergency department of the university Faculty of Medicine and admitted to the emergency ICU with a diagnosis of sepsis between January 2020 and December 2021 were included in the study. Demographic characteristics, vital signs, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), Rapid Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA), ionized calcium and total serum calcium levels, blood gas, hemogram and biochemistry parameters, hospital outcome, and 7-day mortality status were retrospectively screened and analyzed. Results The mean ionized calcium level of the cases was 1.07 ± 0.20 mmol/L, and the albumin-corrected calcium level was 9.20 ± 1.06 mg/dL. While the 7-day mortality rate was 25.4%, the hospital mortality rate was up to 57.9%. ROC analyses showed that ionized calcium concentrations were not the sole predictors of 7-day mortality (AUC=0.561, 95% CI 0.494-0.626, p=0.188) and hospital outcome (AUC=0.525, 95% CI 0.458-0.591, p=0.517). Ionized calcium levels were also not correlated with SOFA score, ICU length of stay, and hospital length of stay, which were significant predictors of mortality. Conclusion Ionized calcium may provide more accurate information than corrected total serum calcium levels in determining calcium levels. The frequency of hypocalcemia is quite high in sepsis cases. However, the prognostic value of ionized calcium is limited in patients admitted to the ICU due to sepsis.
Conflict of interest : The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Mevlana Tıp Bilimleri 2025, Vol5, Issue3 E-ISSN: 2757-976X
Received : , Accepted : , Published Online :
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KeywordsIonized Calcium, Corrected Calcium, Sepsis, Intensive Care Unit
