title: Preoperative Nutritional Status as an Adjunct Predictor of Major Postoperative Complications Following Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.
abstract: METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), a prospectively collected multicenter surgical outcomes database.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the effect of preoperative nutritional status, as measured by serum albumin concentration, on outcomes following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Nutritional status has been shown to be an important predictor of postoperative recovery and outcomes. Serum albumin concentration is an established marker of overall nutrition and systemic disease, however, its correlation to outcomes following ACDF is unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  ACDF cases from 2005 to 2010 were identified in the NSQIP and categorized by preoperative serum albumin: normal (≥3.5 g/dL), hypoalbuminemic (<3.5 g/dL), or not measured. Independent demographic and comorbidity variables were assessed, including American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification. Risk factors for major postoperative complications were identified, including preoperative hypoalbuminemia, and incorporated into a multivariable logistic regression model to determine the strength of preoperative hypoalbuminemia as an adjusted predictor of major postoperative complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 3671 ACDF cases, of which 1382 (37.6%) had preoperative albumin measurements. Patients with albumin measurements were older and more likely to have higher ASA class, hypertension, and diabetes. Hypoalbuminemic patients had higher rates of having any major postoperative complication(s), specifically pulmonary complications, cardiac complications, and reoperation, relative to those with normal albumin (all P<0.01). These patients also had longer lengths of stay (5.0 vs. 1.9 d). With multivariable regression, preoperative hypoalbuminemia was a strong independent predictor of major postoperative complications, with an adjusted odds ratio of 3.37 (P=0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this analysis of a prospective surgical outcomes database, preoperative serum hypoalbuminemia was an important adjunct predictor of major complications following ACDF. In high-risk patients with multiple medical comorbidities, we recommend that clinicians consider nutritional screening and optimization as part of preoperative risk assessment.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY†Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA‡Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Michael C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Rafael A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Buerba
authors.forename: Jonathan N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Grauer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017586:Diskectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D034141:Hypoalbuminemia / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D057234:Preoperative Period; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D012709:Serum Albumin