Preoperative serum albumin levels predict 1-year postoperative survival of patients undergoing heart transplantation

Tomoko S. Kato, Faisal H. Cheema, Jonathan Yang, Yumeko Kawano, Hiroo Takayama, Yoshifumi Naka, Maryjane Farr, David J. Lederer, Matthew R. Baldwin, Zhezhen Jin, Shunichi Homma, Donna M. Mancini, P. Christian Schulze

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background-Serum albumin concentration has been recognized as a marker of nutrition, severity of inflammation, and hepatic function in patients with various chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of pretransplant serum albumin concentration on post-transplant outcome in heart transplant recipients. Methods and Results-Preoperative laboratory variables, including albumin concentration and donor-related information, were obtained from 822 consecutive patients undergoing heart transplant at Columbia University Medical Center between 1999 and 2010. The association between pretransplant albumin concentration and post-transplant 1-year survival was analyzed. Available data from the United Network for Organ Sharing (n=13 671) were also analyzed to evaluate the impact of preoperative albumin levels on post-transplant outcome. In our cohort, multivariable analysis revealed that preoperative albumin (mg/dL; hazard ratio, 0.46; P<0.0001) and preoperative total bilirubin (mg/dL; hazard ratio, 1.26; P=0.0002) were associated with post-transplant 1-year mortality. This implied that for every 1 mg/dL increase in albumin concentration, the post-transplant 1-year mortality rate decreased by 54%. The Kaplan-Meier analysis based on our patients cohort and the United Network for Organ Sharing dataset showed lower survival rate at 1-year post-transplant in patients with albumin levels ≤3.5 mg/dL compared with those with >3.5 mg/dL (our patients, 91.3 versus 72.4%; P<0.0001; United Network for Organ Sharing, 88.4 versus 84.8%; P<0.0001). Conclusions- Pretransplant serum albumin concentration is a strong prognostic marker for post-transplant survival in heart transplant recipients.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)785-791
Number of pages7
JournalCirculation: Heart Failure
Volume6
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Albumin
  • Heart transplantation
  • Prognosis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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