Albumin and resuscitation: a sense of Déjà Vu.

Albumin and resuscitation: a sense of Déjà Vu Nevertheless, considering data from the three groups is informative. Criticisms concerning the burns patients group have been published. Concerning intravenous albumin in the management of hypoalbuminaemia in critically ill patients (i.e. the hypoalbuminaemic group): in the presence of a normal intravascular volume, hypoalbuminaemia is caused largely by redistribution of albumin from the intravascular to the interstitial compartment. Serum albumin levels decrease with acute illness (it is a ‘negative’ acute phase reactant); it is a marker of underlying disease rather than a cause for it. Most studies have demonstrated no benefit in administering albumin to simply correct a low serum albumin level, and most Intensivists understand this. It is conceivable that administering albumin to this group (i.e. a group that does not require albumin) is associated with an increase in mortality. “First get your facts; then you can distort them at your leisure” Mark Twain