Blood urea nitrogen in the prediction of in-hospital mortality of patients with acute aortic dissection

Background: Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) has been shown to be associated with adverse cardiovascular disease outcomes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of BUN in patients with acute aortic dissection (AAD). Hypothesis: BUN has correlation with in-hospital mortality of patients with AAD. Methods: Patients admitted to the emergency room within the first 24 h of onset of AAD were included in the study. BUN levels were measured on admission and the endpoints were mortality during hospitalization after receiving surgical or endovascular repair. Results: A total of 192 patients with AAD were enrolled During hospitalization, 19 patients died and 173 patients survived. Increased levels of BUN (8.9 [7.0-9.7] vs. 6.0 [5.1-7.2] mmol/L, p < 0.001) were found in non-survivors compared with those survived. Using multivariable logistic analysis, BUN was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality in patients with AAD (OR 1.415, 95% CI 1.016-1.971, p = 0.040). Furthermore, using receiver operating characteristic analysis, the optimal cutoff value for BUN was 6.95 mmol/L. Under this value, the area under the curve was 0.785 (95% CI 0.662-0.909, p < 0.001) and the sensitivity and specificity to predict in-hospital mortality was 78.9%, and 72.2%, respectively. Conclusions: Admission BUN levels were an independent predictor for in hospital mortality in patients with AAD.