Low serum albumin may predict poor efficacy in patients with perforated peptic ulcer treated nonoperatively

Table 1 Comparison of baseline patient characteristics between the two groups, n (%)

Variables	Surgical group	NOM group	P value
	n = 50	n = 222
Age in yr, average (median)	66.5 (15.8)	58.0 (21.3)	< 0.001
≥ 70 yr	19 (38.0)	44 (19.8)	0.006
Male, n (%)	32 (64.0)	162 (73.0)	0.205
Hypertension	16 (32.0)	45 (20.3)	0.072
DM	11 (22.0)	28 (12.6)	0.087
Smoking	26 (52.0)	83 (37.4)	0.057
Alcohol consumption	18 (36.0)	56 (25.2)	0.122
NSAIDs use	16 (32.0)	50 (22.5)	0.158
Pain duration prior to admission (median)	8.0 (9.0)	6.0 (6.0)	0.001
≥ 12 h	16 (32.0)	33 (14.9)	0.004
Heart rate (bpm) (median)	92.0 (24.0)	86.0 (18.0)	0.116
Body temperature (C) (median)	36.7 (1.2)	36.7 (0.7)	0.826
≥ 38 C	9 (18.0)	19 (8.6)	0.047
Hemoglobin (g/L)	116.8 22.7	126.5 22.2	0.006
< 90 g/L	7 (14.0)	15 (6.8)	0.090
WBC count (× 109/L) (median)	9.5 (6.6)	10.5 (3.3)	0.479
≥ 12 × 109/L	18 (36.0)	77 (34.7)	0.860
Procalcitonin (ng/mL) (median)	5.14 (10.03)	0.88 (3.96)	< 0.001
CRP (mg/L) (median)	151.28 (151.16)	68.46 (119.35)	< 0.001
Serum albumin (g/L)	27.5 4.65	33.7 6.79	< 0.001
< 30 g/L	32 (64.0)	54 (24.3)	< 0.001

CRP: C-reactive protein; DM: Diabetes mellitus; NOM: Nonoperative management; NSAIDs: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; WBC: White blood cell.