Background: Hypoalbuminemia is associated with adverse surgical outcomes. A minimum threshold and the impact of incrementally decreasing albumin remain undefined for colorectal surgery patients.
Study design: The 2011-2013 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) dataset was queried for patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery. Multivariable regression analyses with restricted cubic splines (RCS) were used to examine the adjusted association between preoperative serum albumin level and the incidence of complications and to establish an optimal threshold. RCS allows for flexible evaluation in multivariable models without having to assume a specific relationship a priori.
Results: Sixteen thousand one hundred forty-five patients met study criteria. RCS analysis demonstrated an inflection point at serum albumin level of 3.9 mg/dL. Patients with preoperative albumin <3.9 mg/dL vs. albumin ≥3.9 mg/dL had a higher likelihood of experiencing a major complication (odds ratio (OR) = 1.18, confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.30, p = 0.0007) or any complications (OR 1.18, CI 1.08-1.29, p = 0.0002,) and had a lengthened hospital stay (p < 0.001).
Conclusions: This study objectively determines that a threshold preoperative serum albumin of ≥3.9 mg/dL is associated with improved outcomes in elective colorectal surgery patients. Each 0.5 mg/dL decrease in albumin was progressively associated with increased risk for complications. Identifying a minimum albumin threshold has implications in perioperative optimization of patients undergoing colorectal surgery.
Keywords: Albumin; Albumin threshold; Colorectal surgery; Patient optimization; Postoperative complications.