Albumin Blood Plasma

Albumin blood test is used to measure the amount of albumin present in your blood. This test may help to diagnose kidney dysfunction or kidney damage. It also helps in finding out whether diabetes has affected your kidneys.

What is albumin?

Albumin is a kind of protein required for tissue growth and healing. It is usually present in the blood. Kidneys are responsible for removing waste products in blood and regulating water fluid levels in the body. It restores nutrients and proteins required for the body especially albumin. During kidney dysfunction or kidney damage albumin is not restored and leaked into the urine. A significant amount of albumin in urine may indicate kidney damage. The presence of albumin in urine is called albuminuria. This causes low levels of albumin in blood.

Why this test is recommended?

This test may be recommended to you if you have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes, to make sure you are controlling your blood glucose levels to avoid kidney damage or if you have high blood pressure cause high blood pressure is also a reason for kidney damage. This test is also recommended to you if you experience certain symptoms of kidney damage like foamy urine, frequent urge to urinate, dark urine or grey pale stools, swelling of the face, abdomen, hands, and feet, shortness of breath, itchy skin, erectile dysfunction in men, fever, etc.

Precautions:

Some factors may interfere with the test results and increases the levels like fever, urinary tract infections, blood in urine, dehydration, strenuous exercise before test and some medications also affect test results such as antibiotics like cephalosporins, penicillin, aminoglycosides, polymyxin B, sulfonamides, etc, antifungal medications like griseofulvin, amphotericin B, etc, tolbutamide, phenazopyridine, penicillamine, lithium, and some NSAIDs like aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen,etc. Hence inform your doctor or technician about all your current medications and medical conditions prior to the test.

The normal test results may vary depending on gender, age, health history, etc.

If your blood albumin levels are lower than the normal reference range, then it may indicate various health conditions like inflammation, liver disease, malnutrition, shock, nephritic syndrome, shock, Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease, etc.

If your blood albumin levels are higher than the normal reference range, then it may be due to dehydration, or diet which you had recently may be rich in protein content.

If you get abnormal test results, consult your doctor immediately. Your doctor may recommend other tests depending on your results.