Lactate dehydrogenase is an indicator for outcomes of short-term and long-term in septic patients

OBJECTIVE: The association between lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and clinical outcomes in sepsis was explored based on MIMIC-IV database. METHODS: This was a retrospective study. Models including unadjusted model and adjusted models were performed for exploring the association of LDH with 30-day mortality and 1-year mortality. The smooth fitting curves were constructed by using generalized additive model. The predictive value of LDH for clinical outcomes in sepsis was evaluated. The statistical software of EmpowerStats (http://www. empowerstats. com) and R (http://www.R-project.org) were applied for analysis. RESULTS: 6775 sepsis patients were included. After adjusted for all potential confounders, for every 100 IU/L increment in LDH, the risk of 30-day mortality and 1-year mortality increased by 11% (odds ratio (OR)=1.11, 95%CI:1.08-1.13, P < 0.0001) and 12% (OR=1.12, 95%CI:1.09-1.14, P < 0.0001), respectively. The areas under the ROC curve of LDH for predicting mortalities of 30-day and 1-year were 0.667 (95%CI:0.652-0.681) and 0.646 (95%CI: 0.632-0.660), respectively. CONCLUSION: LDH was positively correlated with 30-day and 1-year mortalities in sepsis and the relationship was nonlinear.