You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Plasma albumin concentration is an important indicator of nutritional status, and low concentrations pre-surgery increase the risk of post-operative wound dehiscence, seroma formation and infection.

Plasma albumin has a half-life in dogs of about 8.2 days. Albumin is synthesised by the liver but nutritional depletion can occur if total nitrogen intake is insufficient. Plasma albumin  concentration is  a poor indicator of early protein malnutrition - such as might occur over 3-4 days in a hospitalised patient, but it is a good indicator of long term protein malnutrition.

When measuring blood albumin it is important to monitor the hydration status of the patient as this will affect interpretation. Blood loss, such as might accompany trauma, will also decrease serum albumin concentrations, and of course the presence of liver disease, malabsorption,  protein-losing nephropathy or enteropathy will affect it also. In patients with burns albumin is lost in exudates, and infections cause leakage of albumin  into extracellular fluid. All of these disorders require additional nutritional support.

It has been reported that pre-surgical plasma albumin concentrations of less than 2.0g/dl in dogs resulted in a higher incidence of wound dehiscence, seroma formation and wound infection than dogs with normal  albumin concentrations. In another report serum albumin concentrations of 1.5 gm/dl was reported to be a requirement for protein supplementation.

If nutritional depletion has occurred for sufficiently long to reduce serum albumin concentrations other signs of protein deficiency may be present including :

• Poor growth rate in young animals
• Weight loss
• Poor performance eg strenuous exercise
• Poor production of milk during lactation
• Poor coat quality - hair looks dry, dull, rough, coarse unkempt  and there is excessive shedding
• Immune-compromise due to reduced ability  to synthesis antibodies to fight infections
• Reduced ability to replace tissue cells with a high turn-over in the body, skin cells and cells lining the gastrointestinal tract, blood cells.
• Sometimes, fluid accumulates in tissues - seen as peripheral oedema due to severe protein deficiency

Clinically low albumin concentrations will also affect other nutrients. Calcium is transported in the blood bound to albumin - so total calcium will fall, however the physiologically active ionized form of calcium will not be affected.

Feedback Request : The possible relationship between serum albumin concentrations and post-operative wound healing problems is an interesting one that Provet would like to investigate further.. If you would like to participate contact feedback@provet.co.uk  

Last updated : January 2016