RESUMO
A general review of bisalbuminemia is presented. Besides congenital bisalbuminemia there is an acquired form of bisalbuminemia that appears following treatment with high dosis of penicillin and cephalosporin, or in cases of acute pancreatitis after the development of a pancreatic pseudocyst. There is one type of abnormal albumin that migrates faster than normal albumin (rapid variant) and another type that is slower (slow variant). Different subtypes of each one have been recognized. There is no immunological difference between normal albumin and the variants. From a clinical point of view, bisalbuminemia per se does not cause any observable alterations. This is an important finding, however, because of the possibility that some physiologic or pharmacologic substances may not be bound to the abnormal variants as well as to normal albumin. When bisalbuminemia appears following an episode of pancreatitis it may be indicative of a pancreatic pseudocyst.
