OBJECTIVETo study the changes of serum albumin contents after operation and investigate whether post-operational serum albumin contents are correlated with the disease severity in children with acute intussusception.

METHODSSerum albumin contents were measured using the automatic biochemistry analyzer in 32 children with mild acute intussusception and 21 children with severe acute intussusception 1 day after surgical operation. After 5 days combined treatment, serum albumin contents were re-examined. Thirty healthy children severed as the control group. The correlation between post-operational serum albumin contents and critical illness scores was evaluated.

RESULTSSerum albumin contents in the mild (34.2+/-6.5 g/L; P<0.05) and the severe intussusception groups (25.8+/-7.5 g/L; P<0.01) 1 day after operation were significantly lower than those in the control group (37.1+/-4.1 g/L). There were significant differences in serum albumin contents between the mild and the severe intussusception groups (P<0.05). Five days after operation, serum albumin contents in the mild intussusception group significantly increased (37.1+/-11.4 g/L; P<0.05), while serum albumin contents in the severe intussusception group did not differ from those 1 day after operation. There was a positive correlation between serum albumin contents on the 1st day after operation and the critical illness scores (r=0.879, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSSerum albumin contents decreased on the 1st day after operation and were correlated with the disease severity in children with acute intussusception. Hypoalbuminemia lasted for a longer period in severe cases. The post-operational measurement of serum albumin contents may be useful in the evaluation of the severity for children with acute intussusception.