The clinical uses of albumin: report of an IABS study.

Medical indications for the use of human albumin (HA) by the clinician have been described in the past. They were invariably based on the knowledge of the function of the HA molecule and its feasible role in circulation. So these indications in fact became recommendations to the clinician. In recent years various authorities were faced with the necessity to review requirements for HA, wherever they existed, or to define new requirements, where none were considered before. IABS was, therefore, asked to find out if and how the recommended indications were accepted by physicians of various disciplines. Using a questionnaire more than 800 replies were received. These answers and their evaluation permitted the statement that the clinical use of HA is not limited to the recommended one, but used for additional and newer indications with obvious success. In addition it was noted that present requirements by control authorities do not seem to cover sufficiently the needs of the patients.