Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Crit Care Med. Sep 9, 2026; 15(3): 123634
Published online Sep 9, 2026. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.123634
Published online Sep 9, 2026. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.123634
Lactate-to-albumin ratio, C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio, and prognostic nutritional index in acute and critical care: A focused mini-review
Emre Kudu, Mustafa Altun, Sinan Karacabey, Department of Emergency Medicine, Marmara University School of Medicine, İstanbul 34899, Pendik, Türkiye
Author contributions: Kudu E designed overall concept, outline, and design of the manuscript, led the writing of the manuscript, and performed the literature investigation; Altun M and Karacabey S aided in the literature search, engaged in the interpretation and discussion of the findings, and meticulously revised and refined the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
AI contribution statement: Grammarly was used solely for language checking, grammar correction, and minor language refinement during manuscript preparation. All suggested language edits were carefully reviewed, verified, and approved by the authors, who take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and scientific content of the manuscript. OpenAI ChatGPT was used to assist in the generation of Figure 1, based on the conceptual framework developed by the authors. It was used only as an assistive tool for generating the visual components of the figure. The overall concept, scientific content, organization, structure, labels, abbreviations, and explanatory elements were developed by the authors. The final figure was carefully reviewed, edited, and approved by the authors to ensure scientific accuracy, originality, and appropriateness for publication. The authors carefully reviewed the final figure, verified the accuracy of the scientific content and visual representation, and approved it for submission. AI tools were not used to generate original scientific data, perform independent scientific analyses, or draw scientific conclusions. The authors take full responsibility and accountability for all content of the manuscript and submitted materials.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Emre Kudu, MD, Associate Professor, Researcher, Department of Emergency Medicine, Marmara University School of Medicine, Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu Caddesi, No. 10 Üst Kaynarca, İstanbul 34899, Pendik, Türkiye. dr.emre.kudu@gmail.com
Received: May 25, 2026
Revised: June 20, 2026
Accepted: June 29, 2026
Published online: September 9, 2026
Processing time: 90 Days and 1.6 Hours
Revised: June 20, 2026
Accepted: June 29, 2026
Published online: September 9, 2026
Processing time: 90 Days and 1.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The lactate-to-albumin ratio, C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio, and prognostic nutritional index may help clinicians interpret routinely available laboratory results within a broader biological framework that includes metabolic stress, inflammation, albumin biology, and immune nutritional reserve. Their greatest potential value is not as standalone decision tools, but as adjuncts to bedside assessment and established severity scores. Future studies should determine whether serial measurements, disease specific thresholds, and integration into existing prognostic models improve clinical decision making and patient risk stratification.