• Eric H Tischler, Jake R McDermott, Shivasuryan Vummidi, Samer A Mahmoud, Jonathan M Gross, Aden N Malik, and Nishant Suneja.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, The State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Box 30, Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA.
• Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2024 Dec 18; 145 (1): 6666.

BackgroundHypoalbuminemia, blanketly defined as Albumin < 3.5 g/dL, is often utilized as a threshold associated with postoperative complications and mortality among orthopedic and non-orthopedic surgical procedures. Albumin level is influenced by a myriad of factors including liver function, malnutrition, and inflammation. This study evaluates the role preoperative albumin as an independent risk factor for mortality and increased length of stay (LOS) among distal femur fracture (DFF) patients.MethodsBetween 2010 and 2019, the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) identified isolated closed distal femur fractures preoperative albumin levels using International Classification of Diseases 9th and 10th revisions (ICD9/ICD10) codes [S72.4*; 821.2*]. Albumin was categorized as both continuous and categorical variables: marked hypoalbuminemia (< 2.5 g/dL), mild hypoalbuminemia (2.5-3.5 g/dL), normal albuminemia (3.5-4.5 g/dL) or hyperalbuminemia (> 4.5 g/dL). Primary outcomes included in-hospital mortality and LOS.ResultsThe incidence rate of hypoalbuminemia was 54.6% (419/767). Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that when compared to patients with baseline marked hypoalbuminemia, patients with mild hypoalbuminemia and normal serum albumin reported a respective 82% (OR 0.18, 95% CI [0.04, 0.71], p = 0.014) and 80% (OR: 0.20, 95% CI [0.05, 0.89], p = 0.034) decreased odds of in-hospital mortality. Similarly, a 53.7% (OR 0.46, 95% CI [0.23, 0.94], p = 0.033), 71.1% (OR 0.29, 95% CI [0.14, 0.60], p = 0.001), and 82.8% (OR 0.17, 95% [0.04, 0.75], p = 0.020) decreased odds of exceeding mean LOS was observed among mild hypoalbuminemic, normal, and hyperalbuminemic patients compared to patients with baseline marked hypoalbuminemia.ConclusionPreoperative hypoalbuminemia is an independent risk factor for increased LOS and mortality among DFFs, controlling for confounding factors. Prospective investigation of albumin risk stratification is warranted to differentiate contributable effects of chronic malnutrition and traumatic inflammatory albumin downregulation among geriatric trauma patients.Level Of EvidencePrognostic Level III.© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

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