Exam Overview
Some blood tests are used to determine whether your liver is damaged or inflamed. Although these tests help your doctor evaluate how well your liver is working, they cannot tell if you have hepatitis C.
Tests that assess liver function
Your doctor may do tests to measure certain chemicals produced by the liver. These tests can help your doctor check how well your liver is working. Tests may measure:
Bilirubin
Albumin
Prothrombin time (a measure of blood clotting). It may also be called International Normalized Ratio (INR).
Tests that check for inflammation of the liver (liver enzyme studies)
If you have increased levels of the following, your liver may be damaged:
Alanine aminotransferase (ALT or SGPT)
Aspartate aminotransferase (AST or SGOT)
An increased level of alkaline phosphatase (AP) may indicate blockage of bile ducts.
Why It Is Done
Liver tests are done when a medical history or physical exam suggests that something may be wrong with your liver.
These tests can also help diagnose long-term (chronic) infection. Hepatitis C infection is considered chronic when liver enzymes remain elevated for longer than 6 months.
If you are being treated with antiviral therapy, you may have liver tests from time to time to see whether treatment is working.
Results
Findings of liver function tests may include the following:
Normal
All levels are within the normal range.
Abnormal
One or more levels are outside the normal range. Abnormal liver function tests may indicate that your liver is inflamed or is not working normally. This can be a sign that you have a viral infection.
What To Think About
Elevated liver enzymes can be caused by many things other than hepatitis C, such as obesity, hepatitis B, autoimmune hepatitis, certain medicines, or long-term alcohol use. So you will need other tests (such as a hepatitis C antibody blood test or a liver biopsy) to confirm a diagnosis of hepatitis C.
People with chronic hepatitis C have abnormal liver enzyme levels most of the time. But the levels can fluctuate between normal and abnormal throughout the course of the disease.
Liver tests can be used to help you and your doctor develop a treatment plan. Signs that you might need treatment include:
Liver enzyme levels that remain above normal for longer than 6 months, which is evidence of chronic infection.
Detectable levels of hepatitis C virus in your blood (positive hepatitis C RNA test). This is a sign of an active infection.
Evidence of serious liver damage. This is detected with a liver biopsy.
Showing posts with label liver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label liver. Show all posts
Tuesday
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Alkaline Phosphatase
Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (EC 3.1.3.1) is a hydrolase enzyme responsible for removing phosphate groups from many types of molecules, including nucleotides , proteins, and alkaloids. The process of removing the phosphate group is called dephosphorylation. As the name suggests, alkaline phosphatase's are most effective in an alkaline environment.
The follwing is from labtest online: When a person has evidence of liver disease , very high ALP levels can tell the doctor that the person’s bile ducts are somehow blocked. Often, ALP is high in persons who have cancer that has spread to the liver or the bones, and doctors can do further testing to see if this has happened. If a person with bone or liver cancer responds to treatment, ALP levels will decrease. When a person has high levels of alkaline phosphatase, and the doctor is not sure why, s/he may also order alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme tests to try to determine the cause.
Accoring to Labone, Alkaline Phosphatase is generally part of a routine lab testing profile, often with a group of other tests called a liver panel. Alkaline phosphatase is also usually ordered along with several other tests if a patient seems to have symptoms of a liver or bone disorder.
High Alkaline Phosphatase usually means that the bone or liver has been damaged. If other liver tests such as bilirubin , aspartate aminotransferase (AST), or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) are also high, usually the ALP is coming from the liver. If calcium and phosphate measurements are abnormal, usually the ALP is coming from bone.
In some forms of liver disease, such as hepatitis, alkaline Phosphatase is usually much less elevated than AST and ALT. When the bile ducts are blocked (usually by gallstones, scars from previous gallstones or surgery, or by cancers), ALP and bilirubin may be increased much more than Aspartate aminotransferaseAST or Alanine transaminaseALT. In a few liver diseases, ALP may be the only test that is high.
In some bone diseases, such as a disorder called Paget’s disease(where bones become enlarged and deformed), or in certain cancers that spread to bone, ALP may be the only test result that is high.
Sometimes doctors don’t know why alkaline phosphatase is high, and they need to order other tests to determine the exact cause. In such cases, your doctor may order another enzyme, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase gGT, that is made by the liver in the same places as is ALP, but which is not made by bone.
The follwing is from labtest online: When a person has evidence of liver disease , very high ALP levels can tell the doctor that the person’s bile ducts are somehow blocked. Often, ALP is high in persons who have cancer that has spread to the liver or the bones, and doctors can do further testing to see if this has happened. If a person with bone or liver cancer responds to treatment, ALP levels will decrease. When a person has high levels of alkaline phosphatase, and the doctor is not sure why, s/he may also order alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme tests to try to determine the cause.
Accoring to Labone, Alkaline Phosphatase is generally part of a routine lab testing profile, often with a group of other tests called a liver panel. Alkaline phosphatase is also usually ordered along with several other tests if a patient seems to have symptoms of a liver or bone disorder.
High Alkaline Phosphatase usually means that the bone or liver has been damaged. If other liver tests such as bilirubin , aspartate aminotransferase (AST), or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) are also high, usually the ALP is coming from the liver. If calcium and phosphate measurements are abnormal, usually the ALP is coming from bone.
In some forms of liver disease, such as hepatitis, alkaline Phosphatase is usually much less elevated than AST and ALT. When the bile ducts are blocked (usually by gallstones, scars from previous gallstones or surgery, or by cancers), ALP and bilirubin may be increased much more than Aspartate aminotransferaseAST or Alanine transaminaseALT. In a few liver diseases, ALP may be the only test that is high.
In some bone diseases, such as a disorder called Paget’s disease(where bones become enlarged and deformed), or in certain cancers that spread to bone, ALP may be the only test result that is high.
Sometimes doctors don’t know why alkaline phosphatase is high, and they need to order other tests to determine the exact cause. In such cases, your doctor may order another enzyme, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase gGT, that is made by the liver in the same places as is ALP, but which is not made by bone.
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