Physiologically, blood calcium is tightly regulated within a narrow range for proper cellular processes. Calcium in the blood exists in three primary states: bound to proteins (mainly albumin), bound to anions such as phosphate and citrate, and as free (unbound) ionized calcium. Only the unbound ionized calcium is physiologically active. Normal blood calcium level is between 8.5 and 10.5 mg/dL (2.12 to 2.62 mmol/L) and that of unbound calcium is 4.65 to 5.25 mg/dL (1.16 to 1.31 mmol/L).
Because a significant portion of calcium is bound to albumin, any alteration in the level of albumin will affect the measured level of calcium. A corrected calcium level based on the albumin level is: Corrected calcium (mg/dL) = measured total Ca (mg/dL) + 0.8 * (4.0 - serum albumin [g/dL]).
Since calcium is also bound to small anions, it may be more useful to correct total calcium for both albumin and the anion gap.
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