Following adjustment for age, sex, race, body mass index, diabetic status, ischaemic heart disease, presence of infection at the time of randomisation, nasal staphylococcal colonization, and serum albumin, honey administration resulted in comparable infection-free survival compared with standard mupirocin antibiotic prophylaxis (adjusted hazard ratio 0.94, 95% CI 0.27–3.24, P = 0.92). Here, ALB is linked to infection.