Albumin for Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis: Care Variation, Disparities, and Outcomes.

Abstract

Intravenous albumin reduces mortality in spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). We sought to characterize albumin use for SBP over time and investigate patient-level and hospital-level factors associated with use. A retrospective cohort study in the Veterans Health Administration between 2008 and 2021 evaluated trends and patient-level, practice-level, and facility-level factors associated with use among patients with cirrhosis hospitalized for SBP confirmed with ascitic fluid criteria. Among 3,871 veterans with SBP, 803 (20.7%) did not receive albumin, 1,119 (28.9%) received albumin but not per guidelines, and 1,949 (50.3%) received albumin per guidelines; use increased from 66% in 2008 to 88% in 2022. Veterans who identified as Black compared with White were less likely to receive guideline-recommended albumin (Odds ratio [OR] 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59-0.98) in all analyses. Guideline-recommended albumin was more likely to be administered to veterans with Child-Turcotte-Pugh class B (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.17-1.64) and C (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.61-3.04) compared with Child-Turcotte-Pugh A; and acute kidney injury Stage 1 (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.22-1.79), Stage 2 (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.62-2.91), and Stage 3 (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.18-2.40) compared with no acute kidney injury. gastroenterology/hepatology consultation (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.29-1.99), nephrology consultation (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.23-2.07), and having both gastroenterology/hepatology and nephrology consultations (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.60-2.96) were associated with higher albumin administration. In exploratory analyses accounting for interactions between model for end-stage liver disease sodium and albumin, guideline-recommended albumin was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.85-0.96). Future studies should investigate optimizing albumin use for SBP to reduce the variability and mitigate healthcare disparities.