Albumin
At a Glance
Why Get Tested?
To screen for liver or kidney disease or to evaluate nutritional status, especially in hospitalised patients
When to Get Tested?
If your doctor thinks you have symptoms of liver or kidney disease, if you have a recent, rapid weight change, or prior to a planned surgery
Sample Required?
A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm
Test Preparation Needed?
None
The Test Sample
What is being tested?
Albumin is the most abundant protein in the blood plasma. It keeps fluid from leaking out of blood vessels; nourishes tissues; and carries hormones, vitamins, drugs, and ions like calcium throughout the body. Albumin is made in the liver and is sensitive to liver damage. The level of albumin in the blood drops when the liver is damaged, with a type of kidney disease called 'nephrotic syndrome, when a person is malnourished, if a person experiences severe inflammation in the body, or with shock. Albumin increases when a person is dehydrated.
How is the sample collected for testing?
A blood sample is taken by a needle from a vein.
Is any test preparation needed to ensure the quality of the sample?
No test preparation is needed.
The Test
How is it used?
Since albumin is low in many different diseases and disorders, albumin testing is used in a variety of settings to help diagnose disease, to monitor changes in health status with treatment or with disease progression, and as a screen that may serve as an indicator for other kinds of testing.
When is it requested?
A doctor requests a blood albumin test (usually along with several other tests) if a person seems to have symptoms of liver disorder or a kidney disorder called nephrotic syndrome.
Doctors may also request blood albumin tests when they want to check a person’s nutritional status, for example, when someone has lost a lot of weight. In this situation prealbumin levels tend to fall earlier than albumin levels.
What does the test result mean?
Low albumin levels can suggest liver disease. Liver enzyme tests are requested to help determine which type of liver disease.
Low albumin levels can reflect diseases in which the kidneys cannot prevent albumin from leaking from the blood into the urine and being lost. In this case, the amount of albumin (or protein) in the urine also may be measured. Low albumin levels can also be seen in severe inflammation, shock and malnutrition.
Low albumin levels may also suggest conditions in which your body does not properly absorb and digest protein such as Crohn’s disease or in which large volumes of protein are lost from the intestine.
High albumin levels usually reflect dehydration although the test is not used for this purpose, dehydration is usually assessed by physical examination.
Is there anything else I should know?
Certain drugs increase albumin in your blood, including anabolic steroids, androgens, growth hormones and insulin.
If you are receiving large amounts of intravenous fluids, the results of this test may be inaccurate.
Common Questions
Ask a Laboratory Scientist
Article Sources
NOTE: This article is based on research that utilizes the sources cited here as well as the collective experience of the Lab Tests Online Editorial Review Board. This article is periodically reviewed by the Editorial Board and may be updated as a result of the review. Any new sources cited will be added to the list and distinguished from the original sources used.
