Hypoalbuminemia has been recently informed by us as a risk factor in aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity. Since amikacin has a low serum binding capacity to albumin, the present study was designed to determine if the higher risk of amikacin nephrotoxicity in patients with hypoalbuminemia was due to low serum albumin per se or to malnutrition. One-hundred and thirteen ward patients who received endove...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the changes of serum albumin levels during the peri-operative period, and correlate these changes to surgical outcomes, postoperative morbidity and mortality in head and neck cancer patients with cirrhosis. METHODS 57 patients with liver cirrhosis out of 3,022 patients who underwent immediate free flap reconstruction after surgical ablation of head and neck cancer perfor...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES To examine the relationship between malnutrition criteria, serum glutamine and arginine concentrations, and clinicopathological features in Taiwan colorectal cancer patients. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN Three malnutrition criteria (body weight loss>5% over past 6 months, body mass index (BMI)<18.5 kg/m2, and hypoalbuminemia) and serum levels of glutamine and arginine we...

RATIONALE Primary intestinal lymphangiectasia (PIL) is a rare disease characterized by dilated intestinal lacteals resulting in lymph leakage into the small bowel lumen. Main clinical features include intermittent diarrhea, hypoproteinemia. Scattered case reports suggested that PIL is compatible to pregnancy, but with increased complications. PATIENT CONCERNS A 34-year-old woman with endoscop...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Vitamin D deficiency (defined by serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D) is common in patients with ESRD on hemodialysis, but risk factors are unknown. This study was conducted to determine whether routinely measured clinical and demographic parameters could identify dialysis patients who are vitamin D deficient. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Nine-hundre...

AIMS Hypoalbuminemia is common in heart failure (HF), especially in elderly patients. It is associated with an increased risk of death. The present study sought to examine the prognostic significance of serum albumin level in the prediction of hospital mortality in patients admitted for acute non-ischemic HF. METHODS AND RESULTS We examined the association between albumin and hospital mortali...