ABSTRACT
Albumin is the most abundant protein in human plasma, exerting 75 to 80% of the normal colloid osmotic pressure. Its normal concentration is required for many of the physiological effects in the body. Premature babies are reported to have low serum albumin. However, it is not clear that this is weight related. To look into the relationship between the body weight and albumin in premature infants we selected a group of extremely low birth weight [ELBW] infants, defined as birth weight of less than 1000 grams, having the available data. The study was carried out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit [NICU] of Royal Hospital, Muscat. All ELBW infants admitted during the period from January 2000 to October 2003 were reviewed for the level of serum albumin concentration in the first 48 hours. The required data were extracted from the computer database in the NICU. Atotal of 90 ELBW infants, out of 114 ELBW admissions during the specified study period had complete information. The birth weight of ELBW infants ranged from 490 to 990 grams with a mean of 845 +/- 107 grams. The mean serum albumin concentration among the cohort was noted to be 22 +/- 4 g/Lwith a range varying from 12 to 33 g/L. No significant correlation [r = 0.13, p = 0.21] was noted between the birth weight and albumin concentration. There is no correlation between the body weight of premature infants and the serum albumin concentration