Albumin Biomarker | Walk-In Lab

Overview

Albumin is the most abundant protein in human blood and is made mainly in the liver. It has several important jobs, such as keeping fluid in blood vessels (so it does not leak into tissues), carrying nutrients, hormones, and some medicines, and helping control blood acidity. Low albumin levels can signal liver disease, kidney disease, malnutrition, or chronic inflammation, while high levels are usually due to dehydration and tend to return to normal once a person is rehydrated. Because albumin reflects how well the liver is working and how much fluid is in the body, it is a common and useful check in many medical situations.

Clinical Use Cases

Evaluating liver function and detecting chronic liver disease or cirrhosis.
Helping diagnose and monitor kidney disease, especially albumin leakage into urine (proteinuria).
Screening for malnutrition or chronic illness in hospitalized or older adults.
Monitoring overall health and prognosis in people with heart failure, cancer, infections, or other long‑term illnesses.
Assessing fluid and nutritional status in people undergoing surgery or intensive care.

Specimen Types

Serum (the liquid part of blood after clotting).
Plasma (whole blood treated with an anticoagulant such as EDTA or heparin).
Urine (to check for albumin leakage, often as a spot urine test or timed collection).
Other body fluids (such as ascites fluid or pleural fluid) in specific clinical settings.

Measurement Methods

Colorimetric or spectrophotometric assays on automatic analyzers (e.g., bromocresol green or bromocresol purple methods on serum/plasma).
Turbidimetric or nephelometric methods (using light scattering) for high‑precision lab testing.
Immunoassays such as enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or radioimmunoassay (RIA) for urine or special fluids.
High‑performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC‑MS/MS) in specialized reference labs.

Test Preparation and Influencing Factors

Most often, no special preparation is needed for a simple albumin blood test.
If other blood tests are ordered, a person may be asked to fast (not eat or drink, except water) for several hours beforehand.
Severe dehydration can make albumin look higher than normal because the blood is more concentrated; being well hydrated helps avoid this.
Some medicines, such as insulin, anabolic steroids, and certain hormones, can affect albumin or total protein levels, so a clinician should review all drugs.
Conditions with heavy inflammation, recent severe illness, or rapid fluid shifts (for example, large fluid removal from the abdomen) can temporarily lower albumin or change how it reflects nutritional status.