The nurse is obtaining albumin from the blood bank. This blood product is most appropriate for a client with which condition?

• A. Hypercoagulable state
• B. Severe dehydration
• C. Deficiency of iron
• D. Deficiency of plasma protein

Answer: (D)

This question tests understanding of when albumin is used to replace plasma proteins and to expand circulating volume. Albumin is a natural plasma protein that increases the colloid osmotic (oncotic) pressure inside blood vessels. By doing so, it pulls fluid from the interstitial space back into the intravascular space, helping to restore circulating volume when plasma proteins are deficient.

So, albumin is most appropriate for a client with a deficiency of plasma protein. When a person lacks sufficient plasma protein, their blood volume can drop and edema can occur because fluid leaks into tissues. Providing albumin helps raise the intravascular protein level, draws fluid back into the bloodstream, and supports overall volume status.

The other scenarios don’t fit as well. A hypercoagulable state involves problems with blood clotting, which albumin doesn’t address. Severe dehydration is usually treated with crystalloids or other IV fluids to restore volume, not primarily with albumin unless there’s a specific protein deficiency guiding therapy. Iron deficiency is treated with iron supplementation, not with a plasma protein substitute.