The nurse is caring for a client for whom serum albumin screening has been used to assess protein status. The nurse understands that there are disadvantages to using albumin to indicate the nutritional status of protein in the body
What is one of those disadvantages? A) It is degraded very quickly.
B) It is not specific for nutritional status.
C) It is a test that requires 12 hours of fasting.
D) It must be assessed in relation to the client's blood urea nitrogen.
B
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Albumin is often used to assess protein status, even though albumin values are more likely to be altered during critical illness from factors other than protein malnutrition, such as from injury, infection, dehydration, liver disease, renal disease, and congestive heart failure. Albumin is degraded slowly, so serum levels may be maintained until malnutrition is in a chronic stage. It is not specific for nutritional status. Albumin levels do not require fasting prior to being drawn nor is it assessed in relation to blood urea nitrogen.
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