Fructosamine is contraindicated in which condition?

• A. Hypoalbuminemia (<3 g/dL)
• B. Hyperalbuminemia (>4 g/dL)
• C. Anemia
• D. Dehydration

Answer: (A)

Fructosamine reflects the amount of glycated serum proteins, mainly albumin, so the test value depends on how much protein is present in the blood. When albumin is very low (hypoalbuminemia), there’s less glycated protein to measure, which tends to produce a falsely low fructosamine result that doesn’t accurately reflect the patient’s average glucose over the past couple of weeks. Because the result is unreliable in this situation, the test is contraindicated when albumin is severely reduced.

If albumin were high, the fructosamine level would rise with more glycated protein, but the test could still be interpreted with awareness of the protein bias. Anemia or dehydration do not inherently invalidate the assay in the same way hypoalbuminemia does; they may affect concentration or interpretation but aren’t the primary reason the test is avoided.