Transcapillary escape rate of albumin positively correlates with plasma albumin concentration in acute but not in chronic inflammatory disease.

The relationship among "negative" plasma acute-phase proteins (APP), ie, albumin, prealbumin, and transferrin, and "positive" APP, ie, C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, and orosomucoid, was investigated in patients with acute infectious disease (n = 8) and in patients with chronic malignant disease (n = 9). In addition, the transcapillary escape rate (TER) and outflux (J(alb)) of albumin were investigated using an intravenous injection of 2 microCi 125I-albumin. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) plasma concentrations were measured with an enzyme immunoassay. In the majority of patients, negative APP were decreased, whereas positive APP were increased. However, in patients with infectious disease, there were no significant correlations between any of the negative and positive APP. Also, in patients with infectious disease, TER was increased to 8.6 +/- 3.4%/h (mean +/- SD), and J(alb) to 114 +/- 60 mg/kg/h, compared with normal values of 4.3 +/- 2.6%/h and 108 +/- 7 mg/kg/h, respectively. Unexpectedly, there was a significant positive correlation between plasma albumin and both TER (r = .8279, P = .011) and J(alb) (r = .8683, P = .005). In patients with malignomas, significant correlations within negative and positive APP and inverse correlations between negative and positive APP resulted. Malignant disease induced only a slight elevation in TER (6.6 +/- 2.4%/h), J(alb) was within normal limits (92 +/- 35 mg/kg/h), and no correlations between plasma albumin concentrations and TER (r = -.0174, P = .97) or J(alb) (r = .4090, P = .27) were found.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)