Factors affecting perioperative serum albumin variation and short term complications in pediatric patients undergoing major gastroenterology surgery

Abstract Background: Albumin is considered a negative acute-phase protein because its concentration decreases during injury and sepsis. The decrease in serum albumin might be important for perioperative morbidity, even in patients with normal preoperative levels in pediatric population. We here intend to determine the perioperative factors associated with the reduction in serum albumin within 2 postoperative days compared with the preoperative level (∆ALB) and its influence on the perioperative outcome in a pediatric general surgical cohort. Methods: This single-center retrospective review included 939 patients who underwent Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy between August 2010 and Aug 2019. Based on the mean valure of ∆ALB (14.6%), patients were separated into two groups, including a high ∆ALB group (≥14.6%) and a low ∆ALB group (<14.6%). Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the independent risk factors for the reduction in serum albumin. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust for any potential selection bios for the two groups. In 366 matched patients, influences of operating time on perioperative outcomes, including postoperative recovery, complications measurement, and length of hospital stay between the two groups were analyzed. Results: For all 996 patients reviewed, 939 patient records were enrolled into the final analysis. Controlling for other factors, multivariate analysis showed that the high CRP on POD 3 or 4 (odds ratio[OR] =2.36 [95% CI, 1.51-3.86]; p =0.007), presence of Charcot's triad (OR=1.73[95% CI, 1.05-2.83]; p = 0.031), the longer operating time (OR=1.18[95% CI, 1.00 -1.53]; p=0.014) were factors that predicted the high ∆ALB level. The high ∆ALB level was associated with postoperative gastrointestinal functional recovery, reflected by the first defecation (p= 0.013) and first bowel movement (p=0.019) and the high occurrence of postoperative complications (16.1% vs 10.9%, OR, 1.57; 95 %CI, 1.02-2.41, P=0.0026). The mean length of postoperative stay was longer than that of patients with ∆ALB < 14.0% group, although no statistic significant was stained (p=0.057). Conclusions: We showed that change in albumins was associated with postoperative outcomes. The risk factors for ∆ALB could be intervened in the perioperative period to permit patients gain a safe recovery and discharge after major abdominal operations.