Albumin vs Calcuim Tx

[Sherry Adkins]

hi everyone.

i'm new here and need your assistance with answering a question.

i am reading up on electroltes and came across a formula that is supposed to help decide if calcium therapy is needed.

my question is should i actually be treating a deficit in my patients albumin or the calcium.

here is the formula they had to determine if calcium needs treated.

for every 1 gram / dl of albumin lost they state calcium will drop by 0.8 mg / dl.

they say

1. take the total calcium level

2. then add 8.0 mg / dl ( for calcium lost

= a value, that if in normal range is determined then no treatment is needed.

ok. but which should i actually treat the lost albumin or the calcium?

thanks everyone.

sherry

[PICC ACE]

Maybe you mistyped but the correction equation is to add 0.8 mg/dl to the calcium for every 1g/dl drop in Albumin.

The reason is the high degree of binding between Ca and Alb.

Both Calcium and Albumin need to be watched and replaced as needed,but generally low Calcium would be the priority one since it has so much to do with coagulation,neuromuscular conduction and cardiac contractility. A run or two of Calcium Chloride or Calcium Gluconate can quickly correct the hypocalcemia.

Low Albumin on the other hand is less of a priority. You can raise Alb levels with a quick infusion of 5% or 25%,but there is a good chance that it will just leak out of the vascular system and not give you the expected results.

There's more to the whole situation but hope this helps.

GL