and we nurses are sitting here discussing it and the patient is not going to receive any albumin,,,, so we can't figure out why the doc is ordering this test. Anyone familiar with it???

It has to do with nutrition....

http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/prealbumin/glance.html

We do pre-albumin lab tests on just about any patient that is getting TPN or even tube feeds. Also, on older patients or those who have been involved in a trauma. From what we learned in school, pre-albumin is more accurate than an albumin test.

Melanie

We do pre-albumin lab tests on just about any patient that is getting TPN or even tube feeds. Also, on older patients or those who have been involved in a trauma. From what we learned in school, pre-albumin is more accurate than an albumin test.

Melanie

Agree... far more accurate in determining a patient's nutritional status.

We obtain one for wounds also, but once again to see if they are meeting nutritional needs for the wound to heal.

yep nutrition, third spacing, wound healing...that's why we did it...shortly followed by a nice dose of SPA...it does a body good!

From my understanding.....albumin levels take 30 days to change...So the protein you eat takes 30 days to affect your lab levels. Pre-albumin tells around 14 days. So if your pre-albumin is low, your albumin level will be low, or continue to decline....So its used for nutritional or wound assessment based on that. So when your increasing protein in the diet, you can base the effect on the body by the pre-albumin, which will give you an idea of your albumin levels. So for someone with a wound or malnutrition and an albumin of say 2.6 (pretty low) I think 3.5 is low normal. You would begin supplementation. You will check their prealbumin, and then recheck it in 2 weeks to see if the body is absorbing the protein. This will then affect the albumin level.

I hope that makes sense.