High Uric Acid at ICU Admission Signals Higher Risk of Kidney Complications and Mortality: Study
An ancillary analysis of the FROG-ICU cohort, published in Anaesthesia Critical Care & Pain Medicine, has found that elevated serum uric acid levels at the time of intensive care unit admission are strongly associated with adverse outcomes, including higher mortality and kidney complications. The study, known as the URIC-ICU analysis, examined whether uric acid could serve as a prognostic marker in critically ill patients.
The authors report that patients with high uric acid at admission had worse survival rates at both 90 days and one year, along with an increased risk of acute kidney injury and major adverse kidney events within 30 days.
Importantly, the study revealed that the link between uric acid and poor outcomes persisted even in patients who had normal kidney function at the time of ICU admission. This suggests that uric acid itself may be more than a simple indicator of kidney dysfunction and could play a role in the pathophysiology of critical illness. The researchers highlight that uric acid reflects metabolic stress, oxidative injury, and systemic inflammation, all of which can contribute to organ damage and mortality. By identifying high-risk patients early through a simple blood test, clinicians may have an opportunity to improve monitoring and consider targeted interventions.
The findings support the use of serum uric acid as a potential biomarker for risk stratification in intensive care. While the study underscores the prognostic value of uric acid, the authors also caution that further research is needed to determine whether lowering uric acid levels can directly improve patient outcomes. Nevertheless, the URIC-ICU analysis offers important insights for critical care practice, suggesting that measuring uric acid at admission could help identify patients who require closer surveillance and more aggressive management.
