Patient selection: post-esophagectomy
Indicator: serum albumin < 20 g/L on the first post-operative day
Associations:
(1) ARDS or respiratory failure
(2) in-hospital mortality
(3) other major complications (sepsis, renal failure, multi-organ failure, heart failure, pneumonia/empyema, surgical site infection, pulmonary embolism, anastomotic leak, etc)
Additional risk factors for post-operative complications:
(1) female gender
(2) current or ex-smoker
In many cases these findings will be known preoperatively. Hemodilution during and after surgery would be an explanation for a low albumin that can not be predicted preoperatively.
