Nutritional Insufficiency as a Predictor for Adverse Outcomes in Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery

Study Design: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Objective: The effect of malnutrition on outcomes after general surgery has been well reported in the literature. However, there is a paucity of data on the effect of malnutrition on postoperative complications during adult deformity surgery. The study attempts to explore and quantify the association between hypoalbuminemia and postoperative complications. Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was performed on the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) database from 2010 to 2014. Patients (≥18 years of age) from the NSQIP database undergoing adult deformity surgery were separated into cohorts based serum albumin (<3.5 or >3.5 g/dL). Chi-square and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify independent risk factors. Results: A total of 2236 patients met the inclusion criteria for the study, of which 2044 (91.4%) patients were nutritionally sufficient while 192 (8.6%) patients were nutritionally insufficient. Multivariate logistic regressions revealed nutritional insufficiency as a risk factors for mortality (odds ratio [OR] = 15.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 6.01-40.84, P <.0001), length of stay ≥5 days (OR = 2.22, 95% CI = 1.61-3.06, P <.0001), any complications (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.31-2.51, P <.0001), pulmonary complications (OR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.29-4.06, P =.005), renal complications (OR = 2.71, 95% CI = 1.05-7.00, P =.039), and intra-/postoperative red blood cell transfusion (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.08-2.12, P =.015). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that preoperative hypoalbuminemia is a significant and independent risk factor for postoperative complications, 30-day mortality, and increased length of hospital in patients undergoing adult deformity surgery surgery. Nutritional status is a modifiable risk factor that can potentially improve surgical outcomes after adult deformity surgery.