Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) ranges from a mild self-limiting disease to a severe condition that may lead to multiple organ failure and death. Early identification of laboratory biomarkers with prognostic value is essential for risk stratification and appropriate therapeutic decision-making.
Objective: To evaluate the prognostic value of selected biochemical parameters for predicting intensive care unit (ICU) admission in patients with acute pancreatitis.
Methods: A prospective longitudinal descriptive study was conducted in 159 patients with acute pancreatitis treated at Bai Chay Hospital and Hanoi Medical University Hospital between August 2025 and August 2026. Biochemical parameters were compared between the ICU and non-ICU groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent prognostic factors, and predictive performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.
Results: Of the 159 patients, 24 (15.1%) required ICU admission. Univariate analysis showed that hypoalbuminemia (<32 g/L) and hypocalcemia (serum calcium <2.0 mmol/L) were significantly associated with ICU admission (OR = 7.50 and 6.84, respectively; p < 0.01). After adjustment for potential confounding factors, only hypoalbuminemia remained an independent predictor of ICU admission (adjusted OR = 10.88; 95% CI: 1.81–65.29; p = 0.009). Serum albumin demonstrated moderate predictive performance (AUC = 0.6702), outperforming serum calcium (AUC = 0.6298), whereas C-reactive protein (CRP) showed no predictive value (AUC = 0.4994).
Conclusions: Hypoalbuminemia is an independent predictor of ICU admission in patients with acute pancreatitis and demonstrates better predictive performance than serum calcium and C-reactive protein.