Hypoalbuminemia is associated with 30-day mortality in hip fracture patients independently of Body Mass Index

The aim of this study was to assess the possible association between P-Albumin and 30-day mortality in hip fracture patients. The study is based on information from a database of hip fracture patients, established and collected at Bispebjerg University Hospital (Copenhagen, Denmark). This database includes all femoral neck (DS720), pertrochanteric (DS721) and subtrochanteric fractures (DS722) admitted to Bispebjerg Hospital between 1996 and 2012. We further identified all surgically treated hip fracture patients aged >60 years with an available P-Albumin at admission. 1856 patients were eligible for inclusion in this study (73.7% female, 26.3% male). 11.8% of these had died within 30 days. Differences between continuous variables were tested using unpaired t-tests while differences in the distribution of categorical variables were tested using chi square tests. After adjusting for co-variates in a logistic regression model, the association between P-Albumin and 30-day mortality remained increased, (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.05;1.11 (p < 0.0001)). This study shows an increased 30-day mortality risk among surgically treated hip fracture patients with decreasing levels of P-Albumin even after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, CCI and fracture type. Routine screening of patients for hypoalbuminemia at hospital admission may be beneficial in the management of hip fracture patients.

Automated summary

This study aimed to examine the association between P-Albumin and 30-day mortality in hip fracture patients. Based on a database of hip fracture patients at Bispebjerg University Hospital, the study found that lower levels of P-Albumin were associated with an increased risk of 30-day mortality. The results suggest that routine screening for hypoalbuminemia may be beneficial in the management of hip fracture patients.