The association of hypoalbuminemia with early perioperative outcomes - A comprehensive assessment across 16 major procedures

BACKGROUND: Poor nutritional status is thought to influence peri- and postoperative outcomes. We assessed the association of hypoalbuminemia, a surrogate for poor nutritional status, with perioperative outcomes in patients undergoing one of 16 major surgical procedures.

METHODS: Patients undergoing one of 16 major surgeries were identified using the ACS-NSQIP (2005-2011). Risk-adjusted logistic regression models examined the association of hypoalbuminemia on perioperative outcomes.

RESULTS: Overall, 204,819 complete cases were identified, of whom 25.4% underwent major cardiovascular, 19.0% orthopedic and 55.6% oncologic surgery. Patients with hypoalbuminemia had significantly higher rates of complications, reoperations, readmissions, prolonged length-of-stay and mortality (all p < 0.001). After adjustment, hypoalbuminemia was an independent predictor of overall complications in 12 of the procedures examined and 30-day mortality in 11 of the procedures. Individual perioperative complication profile varied widely among procedures.

CONCLUSIONS: Hypoalbuminemia exerts significant impact on perioperative outcomes. Its effect is procedure-specific and thus warrants targeted management strategies to improve surgical outcomes. In the absence of clear recommendations, our findings invite surgeons to assess preoperative albumin levels and to manage nutritional status accordingly.