Preoperative Hypoalbuminemia as a Predictor of Postoperative Complications in Elective GI Surgery

Abstract

Background: Serum albumin is a key biomarker that reflects the nutritional and inflammatory status of patients and plays a critical role in predicting surgical outcomes. Hypoalbuminemia, or low serum albumin levels, has been associated with increased risk of postoperative complications. This study aimed to assess preoperative hypoalbuminemia as a predictor of postoperative complications in elective GI surgery. Methods & Materials: This prospective observational study was conducted at Department of Surgery, Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital, Dhaka, from from July 2021to December 2021. A total of 38 patients were selected as study subjects by purposive sampling technique. Each group had 19 patients (Group A: Albumin level <3.5 g/dL, Group B: Albumin level ≥3.5 g/dL). Data were analysed using SPSS version 24.0. Result: Serum albumin levels were significantly lower in Group A both preoperatively and on the 1st postoperative day (p <0.001). Overall, 52.6% of patients developed postoperative complications, most commonly abdominal SSI (18.4%), with significantly higher complication rates in Group A (89.5%) compared to Group B (15.8%) (p<0.001). Conclusion: In this study, it is observed that following major abdominal surgery, post-operative complications (abdominal SSI, wound dehiscence, wound infection, anastomosis fistula, reoperation, anastomosis fistula and mortality) were significantly more among pre-operative hypoalbuminaemic patients than no-hypoalbuminaemic patients.