Postoperative albumin infusion was not related to preoperative nutritional status (preoperative albumin level, preoperative hemoglobin level, age, BMI, ASA physical status, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and diabetes mellitus; all, P ≥ 0.05), but it was related to surgical factors (duration of surgery ≥ 3 h, blood loss ≥ 100 mL, and perioperative surgical events) (see Additional file 1: Table S1). Here, ALB is linked to diabetes mellitus.