[Qualitative dysalbuminemia in capillary serum protein electrophoresis: a case series of 70 patients].

Abstract

Capillary serum protein electrophoresis (CPE) is a high-resolution technique. Thus, it is highly sensitive to the detection of qualitatives dysalbuminemia. By the present study, we aim to describe modifications of albumin fraction within the electrophoretogramm and to expose the underlying diseases. Eight thousand and forty-two CPE were studied, among which 70 showed qualitative dysalbuminemia (frequency ≈ 1/100). The average age of the patients is 33 years with a sex ratio (M / F) of 2.33. Quantitatively, the mean ± SD of albuminemia is 18.5 ± 6.8 g/L by turbidimetric assay and 20.8 ± 7.0 g/L by electrophoretic integration. Qualitatively, the albumin region presented different shapes: a simple thickening of the base, a shoulder to the right or to the left of the peak, one or more distinct additional peaks. The electrophoretic quantification of these modifications ranges from 1.8 to 11.2 g/L. The most frequent causal diseases are nephrotic syndrome and cholestatic jaundice.