Relationship between Reduced Albumin and Inflammatory Response in Critically Ill Patients

Abstract

Albumin is the most abundant protein in human plasma with diverse functions including antioxidant activity, buffering properties, binding and transport capacities for numerous substances (Fanali et al., 2012). Albumin is synthesized in the liver as preproalbumin,then the product, proalbumin, is in turn cleaved in the Golgi vesicles to produce the secreted albumin (Mendez et al., 2005). The reference range for albumin concentrations in serum is approximately 3.5-5 g/dL (35-50 g/L). Serum albumin (CP) is the serum analyte that best predicts a poor outcome. Serum albumin also predicts mortality in healthy individuals (Banks et al., 2010).