Key result
Baseline severe hypoalbuminaemia (<30 g/L), present in 8% of patients, was associated with longer intensive care and hospital stays and a higher likelihood of death following cardiac surgery.
Why the study?
Does pre-operative severe hypoalbuminaemia predict death and length of stay in patients undergoing cardiac surgery?
Observational (n=400)
Does pre-operative severe hypoalbuminaemia predict death and length of stay in patients undergoing cardiac surgery?
Pre-operative severe hypoalbuminaemia (<30 g/L) is associated with increased mortality and longer hospital and ICU stays following cardiac surgery, though its reliability in multivariate predictive models for length of stay may be inconsistent.
Pre-operative hypoalbuminaemia is associated with worse outcomes after non-cardiac surgery, but it has only recently been considered as a predictor of outcome in cardiac surgery. A multivariate analysis of data routinely collected from 400 patients undergoing cardiac surgery was undertaken, comprising pre-operative routine blood tests (serum concentrations of albumin, creatinine, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin and haemoglobin, and white cell and platelet count), diabetic status, left ventricular function, gender, ethnicity, body mass index and age. Indices of outcome were death and length of stay (LoS) in cardiac intensive care and hospital. Eight percent of patients had baseline severe hypoalbuminaemia (serum albumin less than 30 g.L(-1)): these patients had longer intensive care and hospital stays and were more likely to die. Multivariate analysis revealed the best combination of predictors of length of hospital stay for the first 200 patients to be age, serum creatinine concentration, severe hypoalbuminaemia and diabetic state. However, in the second cohort of 200 patients, the same combination of predictors was not successful in predicting LoS in hospital.
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Koertzen et al. (2013) conducted an observational in Cardiac surgery (n=400). Pre-operative severe hypoalbuminaemia vs. Normal serum albumin was evaluated on Death and length of stay in cardiac intensive care and hospital. Baseline severe hypoalbuminaemia (<30 g/L), present in 8% of patients, was associated with longer intensive care and hospital stays and a higher likelihood of death following cardiac surgery.
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