title: Serum albumin levels in burn people are associated to the total body surface burned and the length of hospital stay but not to the initiation of the oral/enteral nutrition.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Serum albumin levels have been used to evaluate the severity of the burns and the nutrition protein status in burn people, specifically in the response of the burn patient to the nutrition. Although it hasn't been proven if all these associations are fully funded. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the relationship of serum albumin levels at 3-7 days after the burn injury, with the total body surface area burned (TBSA), the length of hospital stay (LHS) and the initiation of the oral/enteral nutrition (IOEN).
  
  
  METHODS
  It was carried out with the health records of patients that accomplished the inclusion criteria and were admitted to the burn units at the University Hospital of Reina Sofia (Córdoba, Spain) and UAB Hospital at Birmingham (Alabama, USA) over a 10 years period, between January 2000 and December 2009. We studied the statistical association of serum albumin levels with the TBSA, LHS and IOEN by ANOVA one way test. The confidence interval chosen for statistical differences was 95%. Duncan's test was used to determine the number of statistically significantly groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Were expressed as mean±standard deviation. We found serum albumin levels association with TBSA and LHS, with greater to lesser serum albumin levels found associated to lesser to greater TBSA and LHS. We didn't find statistical association with IOEN.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that serum albumin levels aren't a nutritional marker in burn people although they could be used as a simple clinical tool to identify the severity of the burn wounds represented by the total body surface area burned and the lenght of hospital stay.
authors.affiliation: Service of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Reina Sofía University Hospital Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Joaquín
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pérez-Guisado
authors.forename: Jesús M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: de Haro-Padilla
authors.forename: Luis F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Rioja
authors.forename: Leo C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Derosier
authors.forename: Jorge I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: de la Torre
keywords: Albumin; early nutrition; plasma protein synthesis; protein nutrition state; starvation