Early Postoperative Hypoalbuminaemia as a Risk Factor for Postoperative Pneumonia Following Hip Fracture Surgery

PURPOSE: Postoperative pneumonia is a common and devastating complication of hip fracture surgery in older individuals. This study aimed to determine the relationship between early postoperative hypoalbuminaemia and pneumonia after hip fracture surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study conducted at one centre, we reviewed the medical records of 1155 consecutive patients (>60 years) who underwent hip fracture surgery. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the independent risk factors for postoperative pneumonia. After determining the cut-off value for postoperative serum albumin, the patients were divided into two groups according to the minimum serum albumin level recorded during the first two postoperative days: group A included patients with a minimum serum album level less than 3.0 g/dL and group B included patients with a minimum serum album level of at least 3.0 g/dL. The prevalence of postoperative pneumonia was analysed using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and propensity score matching (PSM) analyses. RESULTS: The incidence of postoperative pneumonia following hip fracture surgery was 5.1% (n=59). Age, cardiovascular disease, and early postoperative hypoalbuminaemia during the first two postoperative days were independent risk factors for postoperative pneumonia. Early postoperative hypoalbuminaemia was associated with postoperative pneumonia development in the PSM and IPTW analyses (P = 0.016 and <0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that early postoperative hypoalbuminaemia is an independent risk factor for the development of postoperative pneumonia in patients undergoing hip fracture surgery.