Background: The long-term prognosis of patients with acute type A aortic dissection (AAD) is poor, despite emergency surgical treatment. Therefore, it is imperative to evaluate patient risk factors to improve the prognosis. The aim of this study was to analyze the ability of the uric acid-to-albumin ratio (UAR) to predict the long-term mortality of patients with type A AAD after surgery.
Methods and results: A total of 289 patients with type A AAD who had received surgical treatment was enrolled in this study. Peripheral blood samples were collected before anesthesia induction. All patients were divided into the UAR < 9.875 group and the UAR ≥ 9.875 group, and mortality significantly differed between the two groups. The patients were further divided into survival and non-survival groups, according to whether death occurred after the procedure based on a one-year follow up. Factors, including age, hypertension, albumin, UAR, and D-dimer, differed significantly between the survival and non-survival groups. The independent risk factors for long-term death in patients with type A AAD were analyzed by univariable and multivariable COX regression analyses, and the predictive value of these indices for postoperative mortality was assessed based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Preoperative UAR (HR 1.904, 95% CI, 1.097 to 3.305; P < 0.05), D-dimer (HR, 1.991,95% CI, 1.116 to 3.554; P < 0.05 ), and age (HR 2.216, 95% CI, 1.287 to 3.815; P < 0.05) were identified as independent risk factors for one-year mortality in patients with Type A AAD. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of UAR was 0.618 [95% (0.544, 0.693)], and the sensitivity and specificity were 69.6% and 51.8%, respectively (P = 0.003). The AUC for albumin was 0.349 [95% (0.274, 0.425)], and the sensitivity and specificity were 26.1% and 51.8%, respectively (P = 0.000), The AUC for uric acid was 0.544 [95% (0.470, 0.619)], and the sensitivity and specificity were 78.3% and 34.5%, respectively (P = 0.265). The AUC for UAR + age + D-dimer was 0.751 [95% (0.681, 0.821)], and the sensitivity and specificity were 76.8% and 68.2%, respectively.
Conclusions: UAR in patients with type A AAD may be used as a new independent risk factor for long-term mortality. Its predictive value is superior to that of albumin or uric acid alone. The combination of UAR, age, and D-dimer provide good prognostic value.