Small thiol compounds such as cysteine/cystin or glutathion interacting with the sulfhydryl group at Cys-34 may change the oxidation state of albumin and may be oxidized/reduced themselves. The role of small thiol compounds in various disease conditions and their putative alterations following albumin infusion is currently unknown. Due to the complex logistics of blood sample handling plasma thiol status is measured in a subset of 10 patients only.