Two cases of severe hypoalbuminemia (<10 g/L)

Received 7 May 2008; accepted 28 December 2008. published online 01 June 2009.

Abstract

Objective

Hypoalbuminemia is known to occur in critically ill patients and is associated with increased mortality. Severe hypoalbuminemia is defined in the literature as serum albumin levels lower than 24g/L.

Methods

Albumin levels were measured in our laboratory using the bromocresol purple method on the Synchron CX9 (Beckman Coulter); the lower detection limit on this apparatus is 10g/L.

Results

We report two cases of severe hypoalbuminemia with levels lower than 10g/L—one in a complete paraplegic patient with severe pressure ulcers and the other in a patient positive for the human immunodeficiency virus with chronic renal failure.

Conclusion

Although cases of severe hypoalbuminemia (<10g/L) are very rare in the literature, chemical pathologists should be aware of the causes of serum albumin levels of this magnitude. These cases describe two different disease states that lead to severe hypoalbuminemia by means of a similar underlying cause, namely severe inflammation or infection.

Keywords: Hypoalbuminemia, Mortality, Pressure ulcers, Human immunodeficiency virus

a Department of Chemical Pathology, National Health Laboratory Service, Tygerberg Hospital, Stellenbosch University, Parow, South Africa

b Department of Chemical Pathology, National Health Laboratory Service, Green Point Complex, Green Point, South Africa

c TREAD Research/Cardiology Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Tygerberg Hospital, Stellenbosch University, Parow, South Africa

Corresponding author. Tel.: +27-21-938-4254; fax: +27-21-938-4640.

PII: S0899-9007(09)00117-8

doi:10.1016/j.nut.2008.12.017

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