Preoperative serum albumin level as a predictor of operative mortality and morbidity: results from the National VA Surgical Risk Study.

Objective: To improve the precision and reliability of estimates of the association between preoperative serum albumin concentration and surgical outcomes. Design: Prospective observational study. Patients were followed up for 30 days postoperatively. Multiple logistic regression models were developed to evaluate serum albumin level as a predictor of operative mortality and morbidity in relation to 61 other preoperative patient risk variables.