PREOPERATIVE SERUM ALBUMIN LEVEL AS A PREDICTOR OF ABDOMINAL WOUND-RELATED COMPLICATIONS AFTER EMERGENCY EXPLORATORY LAPAROTOMY

Introduction: A plethora of factors are involved in the process of wound healing; amongst them nutritional status of the patient is highly considered for fast recovery in the postoperative period. Literature shows that preoperative serum albumin levels can determine & impact postoperative complications in patients undergoing emergency laparotomy. Therefore, early detection & intervention is highly recommended. A retrospective study data consisting of 69 patients collected o Methods: ver 8 months amongst those who underwent emergency exploratory laparotomy due to perforation and small and large bowel obstruction was collected. Preoperative serum albumin levels & postoperative complications such as delayed wound healing (>7 days), surgical site infections on 5th day, anastomotic leak, enterocutaneous stula (>7 days), wound dehiscence and prolonged hospital stay (>5 days) were noted & analysed statistically. (P<0.001) Results: Majority of the subjects were in the age group of 18-29 years accounting for 30.4% with 63.8% being males. Also, 68.1% patients had albumin levels >3.5g/dl. The mean duration of hospital stay & duration of surgery was found to be 14.11 days & 175.51 mins respectively. The most common procedures performed were primary closure (32%) & resection anastomosis (52.2%). Patients with <3.5g/dl reported complications such as death (4), surgical site infection (21), anastomic leak (2), enterocutaneous stula (2), and increased hospital stay (1). Conclusion: Preoperative serum albumin levels can be used to determine & reduce complications in the postoperative period while reducing the morbidity and mortality levels by early intervention