Preoperative Assessment of Serum Albumin Level as Risk Factor for Morbidity Following Routine Oncological Surgery

This cross-sectional observational study was to establish the preoperative assessment of serum albumin level as indicator for morbidity following cancer surgery and to reduce the incidence of related postoperative complications. Therefore this study was undertaken to assess the morbidity associated with low serum level albumin and identify it as a risk factor following cancer surgery in Bangladeshi population. This study included 312 patients with malignancy who were waiting for surgery or within 60 days of postoperative period were enrolled for the study from indoor of surgical oncology department, National Institute of Cancer Research & Hospital (NICR&H), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Then the patients were submitted for further study to evaluate the preoperative fitness in terms of nutritional assessment - both clinical and biological especially serum albumin level. All the clinical (pre & post-operative including complication, if any), investigation findings were recorded accordingly. Statistical correlation was discovered between BMI and morbidity but no statistical correlation was found between WL >10% and major surgical complications of either infectious or noninfectious origin (p=NS). Conversely, a substantial statistical correlation was found between Hb% or albumin <30gm/l and major surgical complications (either infectious or noninfectious) (p<0.001). The serum albumin level below 30gm/l is a significant risk factor for oncological postoperative major complications (MC).