RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the changes of plasma gelsolin level in patients with critical illness and its application in prognostic evaluation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety six critically ill patients admitted in ICU of Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital from February 2012 to December 2013 were enrolled in the prospective cohort study. Plasma gelsolin levels were detected with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at admission (d1), d2, d4 and d8 after admission, and also detected in blood samples of 186 healthy subjects as controls. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between the level of plasma gelsolin and prognosis of patients.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The average levels of plasma gelsolin were significantly lower in critically ill patients than those in control subjects (F=1986.37, P<0.01). There was significant difference in overall level of gelsolin between survival patients and fatal patients (F=16.691, P<0.01). APACHE Ⅱ score was associated with survival outcomes (r=0.489, P=0.009); the APACHE Ⅱ score was significantly higher in fatal patients than that in survival patients (29.5±7.7 vs 22.1±5.7, t=5.375, P<0.01). There was a negative correlation between plasma gelsolin levels and fatal outcomes (r=-0.512, P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that the overall plasma gelsolin levels and the last measured level was a prognostic factor for critically ill patients (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Plasma gelsolin levels are correlated with the severity of critically ill patients, and plasma gelsolin can be used as indicator of prognosis.</p>