Liver function tests

StephenW

<http://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/l ... ?ecd=wnl_hep_052010>

Author
Maria Essig

Editor
Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA

Associate Editor
Tracy Landauer

Primary Medical Reviewer
Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine

Specialist Medical Reviewer
W. Thomas London, MD - Hepatology

Last Updated
July 13, 2009

Liver function tests

Some blood tests are used to determine whether your liver is damaged or
inflamed. These tests help your doctor evaluate how well your liver is
working, they cannot tell if you have hepatitis.(edit)

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                        
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