Preoperative Hypoalbuminemia is an Independent Risk Factor for the Development of Surgical Site Infection Following Gastrointestinal Surgery: a Multi-institutional Study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is an infection occurring in an incisional wound within 30 days of surgery and significantly effects patient recovery and hospital resources.

Objective: This study sought to determine the relationship between preoperative serum albumin and SSI.

Methods: A study of 524 patients who underwent gastrointestinal surgery in 4 institutions was performed. Patients were identified using a prospective SSI database and hospital records. Serum albumin was determined preoperatively in all patients. Hypoalbuminemia was defined as albumin <30 mg/dL. Data are presented as median (interquartile range) and a difference between groups was examined using Mann-Whitney U and Fisher exact test and multiple logistic regression analysis.

Results: A total of 105 patients developed a SSI (20%). The median time to the development of SSI was 7 (5-10) days. Having an emergency procedure (P = 0.003), having a procedure over 3 hours in duration (P = 0.047), being American Society of Anaesthetics grade 3 (P = 0.03) and not receiving preoperative antibiotics (P = 0.007) were associated with SSI while having a laparoscopic procedure reduced the likelihood of SSI (P = 0.004). Patients who developed a SSI had a lower preoperative serum albumin (30 [25-34.5] vs. 36 [32-39], P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, hypoalbuminemia was an independent risk factor for SSI development (relative risk, RR = 5.68, 95% confidence interval: 3.45-9.35, P < 0.001). Albumin <30 mg/dL was associated with an increased rate of deep versus superficial SSI (P = 0.002). The duration of inpatient stay was negatively correlated with preoperative albumin (R = -0.319, P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Hypoalbuminemia is an independent risk factor for the development of SSI following gastrointestinal surgery and is associated with deeper SSI and prolonged inpatient stay.