Serum Protein, Albumin, Globulin Levels, and A/G Ratio in HIV Positive Patients
Ranjit Patil¹* and Uplabdhi Raghuwanshi2¹Medical Biochemistry Department, Dr. Ulhas Patil Medical College, Jalgaon (India). ²Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik, B.J. Medical College, Pune (India).
Abstract: Estimating serum total protein & serum albumin level assesses the nutritional status of the patient. Malnutrition is an important complication of HIV infection. Opportunistic infections not only cause altered body metabolism but are also associated with reduced oral intake, which seems to be the most important determinant of weight loss. The present study attempts to assess the following:- 1. The protein status in HIV positive patients. 2. If it is useful as a prognostic tool. The study demonstrates a significant increase (p<0.01) in serum total protein in morbid group as compared to controls. The mean serum total protein level in HIV positive patients was 7.43 ± 0.43 gm% (control group = 7.07 ± 0.22 gm%). The serum albumin levels (mean = 2.67 ± 0.34 gm%) were decreased in morbid group as compared to control (4.45 ± 0.26 gm %), which was found to be statistically highly significant (p<0.001). The serum globulin levels (mean = 4.76 ± 0.41 gm %) were increased in HIV positive patients as compared to controls (2.6 ± 0.29 gm %). This increase was statistically highly significant (p<0.001). The mean serum A: G ratio in the control group was found to be 1.7 ± 0.26 whereas in HIV positive patients it was reversed (0.56 ± 0.1), which was statistically highly significant (p<0.001), according to the present study. The serum albumin level (< 3gm%) can be used as a prognostic indicator.
Keywords: Total protein; albumin; globulin; A: G ratio; and HIV/AIDS Back to TOC