Serum prealbumin as a predictor of adverse outcomes in patients with heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: To evaluate the association of serum prealbumin level with adverse outcomes in heart failure (HF) patients by conducting a meta-analysis. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in both international and Chinese databases to identify the cohort studies that reported the association of serum prealbumin level with all-cause mortality and composite endpoints of death/heart failure readmission in HF patients. Results: Eight studies involving 2439 patients were eligible. Low prealbumin level was associated with higher risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted risk ratio [RR] 1.89; 95% CI: 1.35-2.65) and composite endpoints (adjusted RR 3.08; 95% CI: 1.43-6.64). Conclusions: Low serum prealbumin level may be an independent predictor of all-cause mortality/heart failure readmission in HF patients.