Disturbances of calciumhomeostasishave beenassociatedwithavarietyofdisease conditions inanimals.Knowledge of serumtotal calciumvalues is essential for understanding disease states that cause calciumalterations outside the reference range. Variations in albumin values can affect the proportion of protein-bound calciumin the total calcium concentration.Adjustment formulas ofmeasured calciumbased onmeasuredalbumin or total protein concentrations were proposed byMeuten et al (MeutenDJ, ChewDJ, CapenCCandKocibaGJ. 1982. Am. Vet.Med. Assoc. 180, 63- 67): adjustedcalcium=calcium albumin+3.5 or adjustedcalcium=calcium 0.4 xprotein+3.3. This studywas aimed todevelop relationships between serumtotal calciumandalbumin andbetween serumtotal calciumandtotal protein atdifferent clinical settings, andtocompare these relationshipswithMeuten's. Eachequationvarieddependingonthe laboratories, andtherewas aignificant difference in regression slopes between laboratories. The prevalence of calcium disturbance based on the albumin and total protein equation ranging 0.7-12.1%and 4.6 -19.3%, respectively. These findings suggest that adjustingcalciumformulasmust bedevelopedseparatelyat different clinical settings. Bytheuse of their own formulas, it becomes possible to interpret abnormal calcium values correctly in patients with various clinical conditions.

ABSTRACT   Ⅰ. Introduct   Ⅱ. Materials and Methods    Data collection and criteria for the inclusion of cases    Analytical methods    Derivation of equations to adjust calciumfor albumin and total protein    Cross-validation and comparison of regression equations between laboratories   Ⅲ. Results and discussion    Relationship of calcium with albumin    Relationship of calcium with total protein    Cross-validation and comparison of regressionequations between laboratorieCross-validation and comparison of regression equations between laboratoriess   Acknowledgement   Ⅳ. References

• Sa-Rim Kim(Department of Veterinary Medicine, Kangwon National University)
• Doo Kim(Department of Veterinary Medicine, Kangwon National University)
• Son-Il Pak(Department of Veterinary Medicine, Kangwon National University) Corresponding Author