Abstract
The validity of albumin use in critically ill patients has been lately reevaluated. Although clinical guidelines for blood products in Japan have stated that albumin use to maintain serum albumin values is appropriate, there is a tendency to administer albumin products indiscriminately to patients after major surgery. In April 2006, we developed and started a restrictive albumin use protocol with an upper limit of 3.0 g·dl−1 in patients undergoing an esophagectomy. We then compared the clinical courses and complications which occurred in these patients with a group of patients from before application of our restrictive protocol as retrospective controls. The amount of albumin use and the recorded serum albumin values reduced significantly after the restriction. However, the duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU stay and in-hospital mortality did not differ. In conclusion, the restriction of albumin use with an upper limit of 3.0 g·dl−1 in post-esophagectomy patients did not appear to have any harmful influence on the clinical course of the study subjects.
