# Predictive Value of Uric Acid/Albumin Ratio for Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation Following Isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

## TL;DR

This study shows that the ratio of uric acid to albumin can predict atrial fibrillation after heart surgery.

## Contribution

The uric acid/albumin ratio is identified as a novel independent predictor for postoperative atrial fibrillation.

## Key findings

- Uric acid/albumin ratio (UAR) is an independent risk factor for postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF).
- UAR outperformed uric acid and albumin alone in predicting POAF with an AUC of 0.775.
- Age, C-reactive protein, hypertension, and serum uric acid level are also independent risk factors for POAF.

## Abstract

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is associated with an increased risk
of morbidity and mortality. This study aims to investigate the predictive
value of uric acid/albumin ratio (UAR) for POAF following isolated coronary
artery bypass grafting (CABG).

This retrospective study screened patients who underwent isolated CABG
between June 2017 and January 2024. POAF was diagnosed using standard
clinical criteria. UAR was calculated by dividing the uric acid level by the
albumin value.

This study included a total of 396 patients, who were categorized into two
groups: POAF- and POAF+. Among them, 321 patients (mean age: 61.7 ±
10.8 years; 74.7% male) belonged to the POAF- group, while 75 patients (mean
age: 71.3 ± 10.04 years; 68.1% male) were in the POAF+ group. While
there were no significant differences observed between the groups in terms
of sex, those in the POAF+ group were statistically older. The univariate
and multivariate regression analyses revealed that age, C-reactive protein,
hypertension, serum uric acid level, and UAR are independent risk factors
for POAF. In the receiver operating characteristics analysis, the UAR (area
under the curve [AUC]: 0.775) was found to be a better indicator compared to
uric acid (AUC: 0.649) and serum albumin (AUC: 0.606), with a sensitivity of
70.5% and a specificity of 69.2%.

UAR was shown to be an independent risk factor for POAF following isolated
CABG.