Low albumin levels were associated with an increased rate of serious surgical complications and comorbidities, research led by Lee D. Ying, MD, PhD, MS, and Karen E. Gibbs, MD, suggests.
Published Nov. 23 in the journal Obesity Surgery, the study used Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Quality Improvement Program data to measure the degree of preoperative hypoalbuminemia or a serum albumin concentration of less than 3.5 g/dL. The researchers identified 817,310 primary and 69,938 secondary patients who underwent metabolic and bariatric surgery between 2015-2021. They found that over 30 percent of patients had hypoalbuminemia.
Patients with hypoalbuminemia have decreased levels of albumin, a protein which prevents fluid from leaking out of blood vessels. Hypoalbuminemia can result from swelling or the build-up of fluid in the abdomen and internal organs. A dose-dependent effect was noted starting with “low normal” levels. Optimal preoperative nutrition is key to reduce rates of readmission, intervention, and reoperation among high-risk patients.
An associate professor of surgery (bariatric, minimally invasive) at Yale Department of Surgery and Chair of Surgery at Yale New Haven Health Bridgeport Hospital, Dr. Gibbs focuses on the management of obesity-related disease.
Other Yale authors include: Grace F. Chao, Joseph Canner, Elena Graetz, Saber Ghiassi, Jennifer S. Schwartz, Emily J. Zolfaghari, and Eric B. Schneider.