Hypoalbuminemia may cause interstitial
edema and
hemodilution, which we hypothesized may influence serum
sodium levels. Our purpose was to compare serum
sodium levels of hospitalized adults with or without
hypoalbuminemia. All
sodium and
albumin serum levels of 142 adults hospitalized at general medical wards over a six-month period were searched at a University Hospital mainframe computer. Relevant laboratory data and clinical details were also registered.
Hypoalbuminemia was defined by
serum albumin concentration < 3.3 g/dl Fisher, Mann-Whitney, and Student's t tests were applied to compare groups with or without
hypoalbuminemia. Ninety-nine patients, classified as hypoalbuminemic, had lower blood
hemoglobin (10.68 +/- 2.62 vs. 13.54 +/- 2.41), and
sodium (135.1 +/- 6.44 vs. 139.9 +/- 4.76 mEq/l) and
albumin (2.74 +/- 0.35 vs. 3.58 +/- 0.28 g/dl) serum levels than non-hypoalbuminemic (n = 43). Pearson's coefficient showed a significant direct correlation between
albumin and
sodium serum levels (r = 0.40) and between
serum albumin and blood
hemoglobin concentration (r = 0.46). Our results suggest that hypoalbuminemic adults have lower serum
sodium levels than those without
hypoalbuminemia, a phenomenon that may be at least partially attributed to body water retention associated with
acute phase response syndrome.