Objective: To assess anastomotic leak (AL) risk factors in a large patient series. Design: Case-control study. Setting: The Mount Sinai Hospital. Patients: Ninety patients with AL following colorectal resection and 180 patients who underwent uncomplicated procedures. Main Outcome Measures: Risk factors associated with development of AL. Results: The AL rate was 2.6%. Five risk factors for AL were identified: (1) preoperative albumin level lower than 3.5 g/dL (odds ratio [OR] 2.8; 95% confidence

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... interval [CI], 1.3-5.1) (P = .03); (2) operative time of 200 minutes or longer (OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 2.0-5.8) (P =.01); (3) intraoperative blood loss of 200 mL or more (OR, 3.1;