1.
Albumin in adult cardiac surgery: a narrative review
Hanley C, Callum J, Karkouti K, Bartoszko J
Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie. 2021
Abstract
PURPOSE Intravascular fluids are a necessary and universal component of cardiac surgical patient care. Both crystalloids and colloids are used to maintain or restore circulating plasma volume and ensure adequate organ perfusion. In Canada, human albumin solution (5% or 25% concentration) is a colloid commonly used for this purpose. In this narrative review, we discuss albumin supply in Canada, explore the perceived advantages of albumin, and describe the clinical literature supporting and refuting albumin use over other fluids in the adult cardiac surgical population. SOURCE We conducted a targeted search of PubMed, Embase, Medline, Web of Science, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Search terms included albumin, colloid, cardiac surgery, bleeding, hemorrhage, transfusion, and cardiopulmonary bypass. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Albumin is produced from fractionated human plasma and imported into Canada from international suppliers at a cost of approximately $21 million CAD per annum. While it is widely used in cardiac surgical patients across the country, it is approximately 30-times more expensive than equivalent doses of balanced crystalloid solutions, with wide inter-institutional variability in use and no clear association with improved outcomes. There is a general lack of high-quality evidence for the superiority of albumin over crystalloids in this patient population, and conflicting evidence regarding safety. CONCLUSIONS In cardiac surgical patients, albumin is widely utilized despite a lack of high- quality evidence supporting its efficacy or safety. A well-designed randomized controlled trial is needed to clarify the role of albumin in cardiac surgical patients.
2.
Albumin use in bleeding cardiac surgical patients and associated patient outcomes
Hanley C, Callum J, McCluskey S, Karkouti K, Bartoszko J
Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie. 2021
Abstract
PURPOSE Albumin solution is a colloid used for resuscitation in cardiac surgical patients, but it is unclear if it offers advantages over crystalloids. We examined current clinical practice across 11 cardiac surgical centres and the association of albumin with outcomes in a cohort of bleeding cardiac surgical patients. METHODS This was a post hoc analysis of data from the Effect of Fibrinogen Concentrate vs Cryoprecipitate on Blood Component Transfusion After Cardiac Surgery (FIBRES) trial. Multivariable regression models adjusted for demographic and surgical characteristics were used to examine predictors of early albumin administration (within the initial 24 perioperative hours), late albumin administration (from 24 hr to seven days after cardiopulmonary bypass), and the association of albumin use with 28-day acute kidney injury, mortality, and length of hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stay. RESULTS Of the 735 patients included, 525 (71%) received albumin, ranging from 4.8% to 97.4% of patients across institutions, with 475 (64.6%) receiving albumin early (5% or 25% solution). In the adjusted models, female sex and preoperative hospital admission were associated with early use, while heart failure, female sex, bleeding severity, older age, and prior albumin use were predictors of later administration. Early albumin use was not associated with differences in acute kidney injury (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96 to 3.27; P = 0.07), mortality (aOR 1.66; 95% CI, 0.99 to 2.78; P = 0.05), or length of ICU stay (P = 0.11) or hospital stay (P = 0.67). CONCLUSIONS Albumin use is common but highly variable within and across sites. Albumin use was not associated with improved outcomes. High quality randomized controlled trials should clarify its role in cardiac surgical patients.