BACKGROUND: Surgical trauma can provoke systemic alterations including changes in hepatic protein synthesis. Thus, it is important to point out the influence of this phenomenon on serum albumin concentration. To assess the effect of surgical trauma on serum albumin concentration during the immediate postoperative period. METHODS: The study was conducted on 200 randomly chosen adult patients submitted to elective major surgeries (Group 1) and to medium size surgeries (Group 2), identified according to sex, age and skin color. Blood samples for the determination of serum albumin concentration were obtained on the day preceding and following the surgical procedure. RESULTS: There was a reduction in serum albumin both in Group 1 (p<0.0001) and Group 2 (p<0.0001), with no difference between sexes or patient skin colors for major surgeries. However, women showed a lower reduction in serum albumin than men in medium-sized surgeries. Also, the reduction of albumin was lower in black-skinned patients than in colored and lower in the latter than in white-skinned patients. With respect to age range, a greater reduction of albumin was observed in both groups among patients older than 65 years, followed by younger patients (<45 years) and finally by patients aged 45 to 65 years. CONCLUSION: Medium-sized and major operations provoked an acute reduction in albuminemia, which was more intense among men, the aged and the white-skinned patients.
Serum albumin; Surgery; Wounds and injuries; Proteins; Postoperative period
