Differences in albumin distribution and dynamics between toxaemic and non-toxaemic pregnant women.

By using least squares curve fitting techniques, double exponential curves were fitted to points representing the decay of plasma 131I-albumin after blood volume estimation of 48 pregnant women. Data from the fitted curves provided estimates of the distribution of albumin between plasma and extravascular compartments, exchange between the two and rate of albumin catabolism. The lower total extracellular albumin mass of a group of 23 severely toxaemic patients was shown to arise solely from the difference in plasma albumin mass between this group and the remaining 25 patients. Comparison of these results with those in the literature suggests that pregnant women have a higher proportion of their exchangeable albumin mass in the plasma compartment and a higher rate of albumin catabolism than non-pregnant women.