Corrected calcium for albumin (Payne)
Albumin-adjusted total calcium: the common form adds 0.8 mg/dL per 1 g/dL that albumin is below 4.0 (0.02 mmol/L per g/L below 40), with the original 1973 Payne formula alongside. Ionized calcium is preferred..
Pogosh offers this calculator when a case matches kidney disease, liver disease, malignant hypercalcemia, tumor lysis syndrome. It runs only when you press Calculate.
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References
- Payne RB, Little AJ, Williams RB, Milner JR. Interpretation of serum calcium in patients with abnormal serum proteins. Br Med J. 1973;4:643-646. PMID 4758544. PubMed 4758544
- Desgagnés N, King JA, Kline GA, Seiden-Long I, Leung AA. Use of albumin-adjusted calcium measurements in clinical practice. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8:e2455251. PMID 39836424; PMC11751745. PubMed 39836424
- Buege MJ, Do B, Lee HC, et al. Corrected calcium versus ionized calcium measurements for identifying hypercalcemia in patients with multiple myeloma. Cancer Treat Res Commun. 2019;21:100159. PMID 31521048. PubMed 31521048
Implementation notes
In conventional units the common form is + 0.8 mg/dL for each 1 g/dL that albumin is below 4.0 g/dL (0.02 × 10 × 4.008 = 0.80). The two unit forms differ by 0.2%, so each is computed in the units entered. Unit conversion uses the standard atomic weight of calcium (40.078), so 1 mmol/L = 4.008 mg/dL. A 2026 IOF/IFCC/EFLM position statement is titled "Albumin-adjusted (corrected) calcium should no longer be reported" (Clin Chem Lab Med, PMID 42035248). No hypo- or hypercalcaemia cut-offs are shown because reference ranges are laboratory-specific.
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