Does Hypoalbuminaemia Increase the Risk of Surgical Site Infection in Neck of Femur Fracture Patients? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Abstract

Serum albumin plays an important role in physiological and inflammatory haemostasis; low serum levels are linked with an increased incidence of surgical site infections (SSI). Although this has been demonstrated in spinal and elective arthroplasty surgeries, there is a paucity of evidence with regard to the effect of low preoperative serum albumin on rates of SSI following surgery for adult patients suffering from traumatic, acute hip fractures. A systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA guidelines. Four databases were searched for randomised controlled trials, cohort and case-controlled studies. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Score (NOS). Data was collected and pooled using RevMan Web Software. Results were reported as Odds Ratio (OR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) and statistical significance of p <0.05. An Inverse-Variance model was used in meta-analysis. Result(s): Six retrospective studies (five cohorts, one case-control) with a total of 43,059 patients were included. 45.3% (n=19,496) had low serum albumin (<3.5 g/dL). Hypoalbuminemia was associated with a significantly higher risk of any form of SSI (OR 1.25, p=0.008) and deep SSI (OR 1.76, p=0.05). There was no statistical significance between hypoalbuminemia and the incidence of superficial SSI (OR 1.06, p=0.77). Organ-space SSI was associated with hypoalbuminemia, albeit only one study reported this with poor statistical significance (OR 8.74, p<0.054). Hypoalbuminemia increases the risks of most forms of surgical site infections; superficial and deep infections. There is a weak conclusion to draw between incidence of deep-space organ infections and low serum albumin.