Albumin and CIP

Q: Low serum albumin is a risk factor for Critical Illness Polyneuropathy (CIP).

A) True

B) False

Answer: A

CIP is commonly seen in patients who stay in the ICU for more than a week or two. Some of the known risk factors are:

• severe sepsis 
• severe systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)
• persistently elevated blood glucose
• low serum albumin 
• use of neuro-muscular blockade

Use of steroids is found to be more associated with Critical Illness Myopathy (CIM), though most patients in the ICU have a combined CIM and CIP.

#neurology

#icu-course

References:

1. Witt NJ, Zochodne DW, Bolton CF, et al. Peripheral nerve function in sepsis and multiple organ failure. Chest 1991; 99:176.

2. Zhou C, Wu L, Ni F, Ji W, Wu J, Zhang H. Critical illness polyneuropathy and myopathy: a systematic review. Neural Regen Res. 2014 Jan 1;9(1):101-10. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.125337. PMID: 25206749; PMCID: PMC4146320.

3. Bednarík J, Vondracek P, Dusek L, Moravcova E, Cundrle I. Risk factors for critical illness polyneuromyopathy. J Neurol. 2005 Mar;252(3):343-51. doi: 10.1007/s00415-005-0654-x. Epub 2005 Mar 30. PMID: 15791390.

4. Atrash AK, de Vasconcellos K. Low albumin levels are associated with mortality in the critically ill: A retrospective observational study in a multidisciplinary intensive care unit. South Afr J Crit Care. 2020 Dec 1;36(2):10.7196/SAJCC.2020.v36i2.422. doi: 10.7196/SAJCC.2020.v36i2.422. PMID: 35493283; PMCID: PMC9045521.