A study on the relation between preoperative serum albumin levels and postoperative outcome in emergency abdominal surgeries

Abstract

Background: Nutritional evaluation is critical for identifying patients who are at risk of developing postoperative complications as a result of severe malnutrition. One of the routinely used markers to assess nutritional status is serum albumin. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study is to evaluate the relationship between preoperative serum albumin levels and postoperative outcomes in emergency abdominal surgeries. Materials and Methods: This prospective analytical observational study was conducted on 50 patients who underwent major emergency abdominal surgeries under the department of general surgery in Dr. PSIMS and RF from January 2021 to January 2023. Results: In our study majority of the cases were in the 4th and 5th decade of life. 73.33% of the patients were male and 26.66% were female. Preoperative mean serum albumin level in males was 3.22 ± 0.54 mg/dl and 3.41 ± 0.32 mg/dl in females. The rate of postoperative complication was nearly similar in both groups, that is, 14 male patients (36.36%) and 4 female patients (37.50%). The 30-day mortality rate was strongly linked (P = 0.001) to lower serum albumin levels (<3.2 gm/dl). Conclusion: Serum albumin is an excellent prognostic predictor due to its capacity to detect PEM, which is not always linked with reduced body weight and may not be clinically recognized, but is associated with a considerable increase in morbidity. Serum albumin level below the threshold of 3.2 g/dl was found to be a major determinant of subsequent squeal as well as mortality in the postoperative period.