The role of hypoalbuminemia in the development of the TPN-associated cholestasis

Abstract

Forty-one patients undergoing total parenteral nutrition (TPN), were studied in a prospective manner. We found that patients with low serum albumin were more likely to develop cholestasis than patients with normal serum albumin. None of the patients with normal serum albumin developed cholestasis. Fifty-one per cent of patients with low serum albumin (< 3.0 g/dl) developed cholestasis (p < 0.05). In those who developed cholestasis there was a significant, correlation (r = 0.816, p < 0.001) between the serum albumin and the number of days after start of TPN when cholestasis appeared.