Indicators (relative to normal) of protein in the blood are evaluated in the diagnosis of a large number of pathological conditions. The results allow you to get detailed data about the patient’s health status in general and the features of the work of individual organs and systems. If necessary, a study of the total protein or an extended test, including determining the concentration of protein fractions, can be prescribed.
Types of blood protein tests
Determining the norm of blood protein is an important indicator. Types of research are in the tens. The most commonly prescribed tests by doctors are albumin, homocysteine, hemoglobin, total protein (determined in blood or urine, like other indicators), C-reactive, alpha, beta and gamma globulins, ferritin, rheumatoid factor, myoglobin, ceruloplasmin and etc. One of the simplest studies is blood biochemistry, which allows you to determine the concentration of C-reactive protein and albumin. The results are necessary for the diagnosis of liver and kidney diseases, metabolic disorders, infections, oncological diseases, determining the patient’s general health after burns. A complete blood count (KLA) allows you to evaluate the concentration of hemoglobin, deviations in the indices of which indicate anemia, impaired protein metabolism or internal bleeding.
Biochemical analysis: total protein
A blood test for protein (the norms are indicated below) allows you to determine the concentration of protein molecules in the plasma. This indicator reflects the regenerative abilities of the body, the ability to promptly and appropriately react to any disorders, because proteins are a kind of building material on which the elements of cells and tissues are held. With a lack of protein, any system or organ becomes functional and structurally deficient. A protein is represented by a large number of different subspecies: fibrinogen, for example, characterizes coagulation mechanisms, and the globulin fraction - immunity.
Indications for analysis
Analysis for total protein in the blood (the norm or pathology is determined by the laboratory method, the patient only needs to donate blood) is prescribed at any age for certain indications, including for newborns and premature babies. Indications are a suspicion of metabolic disturbances, the presence of infection or foci of inflammation, liver and kidney diseases, and cancer. The doctor may prescribe an analysis after significant thermal burns or in case of malnutrition. The determination of total protein in the blood can be prescribed along with other basic tests during a comprehensive screening of health conditions.
The main components of total protein
The total protein in the blood (the norm in men and women is slightly, but differs, depends not only on gender, age and condition of the body, but also on the specific indicator studied) consists of several components. The study determines the concentration of albumin, globulin and fibrinogen. Albumins make up the bulk of protein. These elements provide all the needs of the body in maintaining the structure and synthesis of new cells. Globulins are necessary for the production of immune proteins, including antibodies and immunoglobulin, inflammatory mediators, C-reactive protein, and so on. Fibrinogen is responsible for the coagulation process.
The rate of total protein in the blood
In women and men, normal protein concentrations may vary. In general, the scatter of the upper and lower standard values is quite wide. Regarding total protein, the norm is 64-84 g / l. Depending on the type of protein fraction in the blood, the norms are as follows: albumin - 35-55 g / l, fibrinogen - 2-5 units of substance per liter. Globulins are determined only by fractions, depending on need, there are no general norm values. For children in the first month of life, the normal indicator is 48-73 g / l, during the first year - 42-72 g / l, up to five years - 61-75 g / l, in adolescence - 58-76 g / l.
The norm of the protein in the blood in women is slightly reduced (by about 10%) compared with the indicators in the stronger sex of the same age group. This is due to the high needs of the body of women in protein, because the substance is actively spent on the production of sex hormones. In addition, the synthetic properties of the liver in women are slightly lower than in men.
An even greater spread in indicators in the direction of lowering is observed during pregnancy. Within the normal range, a decrease of up to 30% compared to general indicators. Such results are a natural consequence of the increased needs of the expectant mother's body for material for the synthesis of hormones of the endocrine glands, timely growth and full development of the fetus, and an increase in plasma volume due to the delay in excess vascular space.
Total protein in the blood: pathology
Pathological fluctuations in the norm of protein in the blood in men and women can be represented by both a decrease and an increase in the concentration of the substance. The first option is more common in medical practice, but is less specific. A significant deviation from the norm to a large extent is rarely diagnosed, but is characteristic of a narrow circle of serious diseases.
Causes of Elevated Total Protein
An increase in total protein in blood biochemistry indicates hyperproteinemia. This condition is characteristic of:
- dehydration due to pathological redistribution of fluid between tissues and the vascular space during sepsis, infections or intoxications;
- enhanced synthesis of antibodies during the formation of the immune response after the introduction of a vaccine or recent infectious diseases (as a rule, a deviation from the norm is insignificant);
- myeloma (the level of total protein is significantly increased due to pathological proteins, for example, Bens-Jones protein);
- DIC-syndrome against a background of various conditions (usually critical) and intoxications - this condition is characterized by a violation of blood coagulation and the formation of multiple clots.
Causes of Low Total Protein
Lowering your blood protein below normal is called hypoproteinemia. This may indicate the following conditions:
- protein deficiency with malnutrition or depletion of the body;
- liver pathologies, for example, cirrhosis, viral and toxic hepatitis;
- complications of diabetes;
- HIV infection or other autoimmune diseases;
- increased protein loss in the urine with severe proteinuria or uncompensated renal disease;
- bowel and stomach diseases with malabsorption of beneficial substances;
- secretory and enzymatic deficiency in chronic pancreatitis;
- endocrine pathologies, in particular hypothyroidism;
- severe chronic anemia and severe bleeding;
- the progression of cancer, metastasis.
A decrease below the norm of protein in the blood is always an alarming sign indicating pathological changes in the body. Therefore, with results that go beyond the lower limit of the norm, it is necessary to undergo additional diagnostics in order to find out the causes of the deviation and begin appropriate treatment.
Acute reactive C-reactive protein
C-reactive protein is actively involved in the body's immune response. In the inflammatory process, this indicator rises one of the first. In the first four hours, its concentration in the blood increases several times, and after forty-eight hours it can exceed the norm by a thousand times. The highest rates are observed with bacterial infection, with viral C-reactive protein in the blood (the norm is indicated below) increases to no more than 40 mg / l.
Indications for a blood test
C-reactive protein (C-RB) in the blood is determined when an inflammatory process is detected, differential diagnosis between viral and bacterial infections, before and after surgery, to determine the need for antibiotics and several days after the start of treatment with similar drugs, with chronic pain in joints, swollen lymph nodes, fever. Definitions of indicators of C-reactive protein require all acute conditions and diseases, as well as any chronic processes.
The norm of C-reactive protein in the blood
Normally, the content of C-reactive protein is allowed up to 5 mg / l, in some medical laboratories (the result depends on the reagents used) - 10 mg / l. During pregnancy, the norm increases to 20 units per liter, and in newborns, indicators can range from 0 to 15 mg / l. For infants, the norm is up to 10 mg / l. After serious physical exertion, the indicator can increase to 60 mg / l without negative health consequences, and normal rates for smokers vary from 0 to 20 units per liter of biological material. The norm of C-reactive protein is not determined by international medical standards, because it is highly dependent on the reagents and methods of analysis.
C-reactive protein: analysis features
It is important that a normal level of C-reactive protein may not exclude the presence of slight or sluggish inflammation with a minimal immune system response. This is observed, for example, with ulcerative colitis. But research is still necessary to evaluate the process in dynamics. The degree of increase in indicators corresponds to the activity of the inflammatory process, but does not indicate its location. So, C-RB will be increased with appendicitis and inflammation of the gums.
Decoding analysis C-RB
Protein in the blood from the norm may differ in various conditions. So, an increase in C-RB indicators can cause infectious diseases, connective tissue diseases and other pathologies:
- an increase to 100 mg / l indicates the presence of bacterial inflammation (colitis, nephritis, pneumonia);
- C-RB above 200-300 mg / l - sepsis and generalized infections that can affect several organs at once;
- increase to 50 mg / l - viral infection (according to the results of the analysis, bacterial pneumonia can be distinguished from viral pneumonia);
- C-RB in umbilical cord blood 10-20 mg / l - congenital bacterial infection, up to 50 units per liter - sepsis, meningitis;
- increase of more than 100 mg / l - meningitis of bacterial origin, 20-60 units per liter - tuberculosis, below 20 mg / l or within normal limits - viral;
- with rheumatoid arthritis, acute rheumatic fever, psoriatic arthritis and polymyalgia rheumatism (chronic muscle pain), an increase in the level of C-RB reflects the severity of the disease;
- with myocardial infarction, tumors, acute leukemia, after surgical interventions (both in the presence and in the absence of complications), inflammation of the digestive tube, the indicators may be within the normal range or increase slightly (up to 20 units per liter);
- in acute pancreatitis, C-RB in the blood exceeds 100 mg / l (the stronger the lesion, the higher the protein level), if the indicator does not normalize, you need to look for complications.
C-reactive protein in the blood rises and decreases very quickly, therefore it is an important indicator for determining the patient's condition.