Authors' reply: Hypoalbuminemia in COVID‐19.

Keywords: albumin; COVID-19; hypoalbuminemia; pulmonary leakage EN albumin COVID-19 hypoalbuminemia pulmonary leakage 390 391 2 02/22/22 20220301 NES 220301 Dear Editor, We thank Dr. Domenico Lapenna for his interesting comment [1], which gives us the opportunity to further underline the complexity of the topic of hypoalbuminemia in COVID-19, both from the pathophysiologic point of view and from the treatment perspective. According to these premises, COVID-19 patients have been excluded from an ongoing large prospective randomized controlled trial on HAS in critically ill patients in Italy (ALBIOSS-BALANCED, NCT03654001). Further evidence from large studies with well-defined inclusion criteria and endpoints is needed to assess the effects of HAS administration in severe COVID-19 patients. [Extracted from the article]