Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Study Shows Varied Results from Different Methods of Measuring Albumin

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 21 Feb 2017
A recent paper compared the accuracy of several different methods for determining levels of serum or plasma albumin, measurements, which are used to evaluate the nutritional status, kidney function, and fluid balance of dialysis patients.

Investigators at the University of Virginia Health System and Virginia Commonwealth University used 24 testing methods offered by various companies to analyze pools that had been prepared from residual patient serum and heparin plasma from patients without renal disease, and serum from patients with kidney failure before hemodialysis. Albumin was measured in all samples and in ERM-DA470k/IFCC reference material (RM) by three immunochemical, nine bromcresol green (BCG), and 12 bromcresol purple (BCP) methods.

Results revealed that two of three immunochemical procedures, five of nine BCG, and 10 of 12 BCP methods recovered the RM value within its uncertainty. One immunochemical and three BCG methods were biased versus the RM value. Random error components were small for all measurement procedures. Biases for plasma samples were generally higher than for serum samples for all method types. For most measurement procedures, biases were lower for serum from patients on hemodialysis versus patients without kidney disease.

“Nephrologists follow albumin results closely because the results are going to tell them if they need to do anything extra for these patients,” said contributing author Dr. David Bruns, professor of pathology at the University of Virginia Health System. “We know for a fact that this [albumin levels] correlates with mortality. National guidelines define what an acceptable range is and what is not acceptable.”

The investigators concluded that significant differences among immunochemical, BCG, and BCP methods compromised the interpretation of serum albumin results. Therefore, guidelines and calculations for clinical management of kidney and other diseases must consider the method used for albumin measurement until harmonization can be achieved.

The study was published in the January 2017 issue of the journal Clinical Chemistry.


Gold Member
Flocked Fiber Swabs
Puritan® Patented HydraFlock®
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Immunofluorescence Analyzer
MPQuanti
New
Multi-Function Pipetting Platform
apricot PP5
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The lab-in-tube assay could improve TB diagnoses in rural or resource-limited areas (Photo courtesy of Kenny Lass/Tulane University)

Handheld Device Delivers Low-Cost TB Results in Less Than One Hour

Tuberculosis (TB) remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, affecting an estimated 10 million people annually. In 2021, about 4.2 million TB cases went undiagnosed or unreported, mainly due to... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The ready-to-use DUB enzyme assay kits accelerate routine DUB activity assays without compromising data quality (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Sensitive and Specific DUB Enzyme Assay Kits Require Minimal Setup Without Substrate Preparation

Ubiquitination and deubiquitination are two important physiological processes in the ubiquitin-proteasome system, responsible for protein degradation in cells. Deubiquitinating (DUB) enzymes contain around... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: The HIV-1 self-testing chip will be capable of selectively detecting HIV in whole blood samples (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Disposable Microchip Technology Could Selectively Detect HIV in Whole Blood Samples

As of the end of 2023, approximately 40 million people globally were living with HIV, and around 630,000 individuals died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Despite a substantial decline in deaths... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.