This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Preoperative hypoalbuminemia linked to early readmission, surgical site infection after TJA
Researchers of this retrospective analysis indicated preoperative hypoalbuminemia, defined as a serum albumin concentration of less than 3.5 g/dL, correlated with an increased risk for surgical site infection, readmission and longer hospital stay during the first 30 days after total joint arthroplasty.
Using American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) data, researchers identified 49,603 patients who underwent elective, primary total joint arthroplasty. Patients with preoperative hypoalbuminemia were compared with patients who had a normal serum albumin concentration preoperatively. Patients were prospectively followed for first 30 days postoperatively to determine hospital length of stay, readmission to any hospital and development of complications.
Results showed the prevalence of hypoalbuminemia was 4%. Compared with patients who had a normal serum albumin concentration, patients with hypoalbuminemia had an adjusted risk ratio of 1.5 for developing complications. Investigators also noted patients with preoperative hypoalbuminemia had higher rates for surgical site infection (2.29% vs. 0.96%) and pneumonia (1.27% vs. 0.30%) compared with patients with normal serum albumin concentration. Patients with hypoalbuminemia had a longer mean postoperative length of stay (3.52 days vs. 3.10 days) and had a higher rate of unplanned hospital readmissions (6.3% vs. 3.5%), according to researchers.‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosures: Bohl reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
Collapse
Bohl DD, et al. J Arthroplasty. 2015;doi:10.1016/j.arth.2015.08.028.