Associations among preoperative albumin concentration, coagulation status, and severity of postoperative complications in patients with abdominal trauma

Abstract Purpose Abdominal trauma has many causes and requires rapid treatment. Because of injuries to multiple organs, cross-abdominal objective predictors derived from preoperative information are important for management. This study was performed to identify which preoperative clinical features are associated with worse postoperative complications. Methods Using our institutional database, we identified 80 consecutive patients who underwent emergency surgery after abdominal trauma from 2010 to 2020. We assessed the associations between clinical features and complications graded using the Clavien–Dindo (CD) classification. Results The most frequent causes of abdominal trauma were stab wounds (40%) and car accidents (38%). The most commonly injured organs were the small intestine (39%) and mesentery (16%). We observed a strong negative relationship between the CD classification and albumin level ( r < −0.4, P < 0.0001) and strong positive relationships between the CD classification and the fibrinogen degradation product (FDP) level, D-dimer level, and blood transfusion volume (all r > 0.4, all P < 0.0001). In the logistic regression models, all four abovementioned variables were significantly associated with severe complications (all P < 0.04). Conclusion The albumin, FDP, and D-dimer levels and the blood transfusion volume might be useful predictors of postoperative complications in patients with abdominal trauma.