Advances in pathogenesis research of hypoproteinemia in infectious diseases

Hypoproteinemia is a common clinical complication in many diseases, which could affect the disease prognosis, particularly in critical illness. Low serum albumin level often precludes dangerous conditions and poor prognosis. In the pediatric clinical practice, hypoalbuminemia is commonly seen in acute infection. Therefore, the mechanism of infection-induced hypoalbuminemia should be emphasized, which plays a crucial role in modifying clinical interventions and reducing the mortality rate. But the mechanism of hypoalbuminemia has not yet been fully clarified at present. In this article,the possible mechanism of infectioninduced hypoproteinemia is investigated from the albumin catabolism, synthesis, distribution of abnormalities,half-life, protein-losing enteropathy and so on. Key words: Hypoproteinemia; Infectious diseases; Pathogenesis