Journal of Anesthesiology and Clinical Research
Vol. 7 No. 2 (2026): Journal of Anesthesiology and Clinical Research

Admission Glucose-to-Potassium Ratio as a Predictor of Mortality Risk in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Undergoing Craniotomy: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Purwoko (Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta, Indonesia)
Sugeng Budi Santosa (Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta, Indonesia)
Lichte Christian Purbono (Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Surakarta, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
10 Jul 2026

Abstract

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability, and case fatality after emergency neurosurgery remains high, creating an urgent need for inexpensive, rapidly available prognostic tools. The admission glucose-to-potassium ratio (GKR) integrates the concurrent hyperglycaemia and hypokalaemia of the neuroendocrine stress response and may outperform either parameter alone; this study analysed its correlation with mortality risk in severe-TBI patients undergoing craniotomy. Methods: A retrospective cohort of 95 adults (18–60 years) with severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale ≤8) managed surgically at Dr. Moewardi Regional General Hospital, Surakarta (March–August 2024) was studied by consecutive sampling. GKR was calculated from admission blood glucose (mg/dL) divided by serum potassium (mmol/L); mortality risk was quantified with the MOST score (low 0–30, moderate 31–60, high 61–100). Analyses included Spearman correlation with 95% confidence intervals, Kruskal–Wallis testing with ε², ROC analysis, and multivariable logistic regression. Results: Median GKR was 35.14 (range 23.18–64.14) and rose monotonically across strata (26.94, 35.21, 55.67). GKR correlated with mortality risk (ρ = 0.376, 95% CI 0.19–0.54, p < 0.001), more strongly than glucose (ρ = 0.329, p = 0.001) or potassium (ρ = −0.243, p = 0.018). GKR discriminated high mortality risk with an area under the curve of 0.91 (95% CI 0.82–0.99) at a cut-off of 47.0, and each unit raised the adjusted odds of high risk 1.35-fold (95% CI 1.09–1.66, p = 0.006). Conclusion: Admission GKR is a simple, robust bedside marker for early mortality-risk stratification in severe-TBI craniotomy patients.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

JACR

Publisher

Subject

Biochemistry, Genetics & Molecular Biology Health Professions Immunology & microbiology Medicine & Pharmacology Neuroscience

Description

Journal of Anesthesiology and Clinical Research/JACR that focuses on anesthesiology; pain management; intensive care; emergency medicine; disaster management; pharmacology; physiology; clinical practice research; and palliative ...