Postoperative decrease of serum albumin predicts short-term complications in patients undergoing gastric cancer resection

Table 1 Patient characteristics

Characteristic	n = 223
Age in yr	62.3 ± 9.9
Sex, n
Male	159
Female	64
BMI in kg/m2	23.0 ± 3.4
Comorbidities, n
Diabetes mellitus	15
Hypertension	72
Preoperative serum albumin in g/L	38.3 ± 3.2
Preoperative hemoglobin in g/L	123.4 ± 24.9
Preoperative CRP in g/L	6.6 ± 10.3
CA 19-9 in ng/mL
≥ 37	43
< 37	180
CEA in ng/mL
≥ 5	26
< 5	197
Lymphocyte count as × 109/L
≥ 3	9
< 3	214
CRP on POD 3 in mg/L	99.7 ± 60.9
ALB on POD 1 in g/L	32.7 ± 3.6
ASA ≥ 3, n	122
Clinical stage I/II/III/IV, n	67/44/103/9
Mode of surgical approach, n
Laparoscopic	18
Open	205
Type of resection, n
Distal gastrectomy	82
Proximal gastrectomy	24
Total gastrectomy	117
Degree of lymph node dissection ≥ 2, n	180
Operation time in min	239.1 ± 66.9
Blood loss in mL	228.6 ± 146.2
Postoperative complications as Clavien-Dindo grade, n
I and II	40
≥ III	22
Postoperative stay in d	15.8 ± 8.6

ALB: Albumin; ASA: American Society of Anesthesiologists; BMI: Body mass index; CA 19-9: Carbohydrate antigen 19-9; CEA: Carcinoembryonic antigen; CRP: C-reactive protein; POD: Postoperative day.