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Liver function tests (LFTs or LFs), also referred to as a hepatic panel or liver panel, are groups of blood tests that provide information about the state of a patient's liver. [1] These tests include prothrombin time (PT/INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), albumin , bilirubin (direct and indirect), and others.
Normal ranges for both ALT and AST vary by gender, age, and geography and are roughly 8-40 U/L (0.14-0.67 μkal/L). [4] Mild transaminesemia refers to levels up to 250 U/L. [ 1 ] Drug-induced increases such as that found with the use of anti-tuberculosis agents such as isoniazid are limited typically to below 100 U/L for either ALT or AST.
The proportion of AST to ALT in hepatocytes is about 2.5:1, but because AST is removed from serum by the liver sinusoidal cells twice as quickly (serum half-life t 1/2 = 18 hr) compared to ALT (t 1/2 = 36 hr), so the resulting serum levels of AST and ALT are about equal in healthy individuals, resulting in a normal AST/ALT ratio around 1.
Indeed, also using the old NAFLD definition, the disease is observed in up to 80% of obese people, 35% of whom progress to NASH, [41] and in up to 20% of normal weight people, [10] despite no evidence of excessive alcohol consumption. FLD is the most common cause of abnormal liver function tests in the United States. [14]
Liver function tests may be abnormal, but they often remain within the normal range even in advanced disease. [13] [66] [25] Other blood tests that may be useful to confirm the diagnosis include erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum glucose, and albumin.
Stauffer syndrome causes abnormal liver function tests, especially those that reflect the presence of cholestasis, i.e. abnormal bile flow. Hepatosplenomegaly may also be observed. The symptoms and signs resolve if the renal cell carcinoma (or another associated tumor) is successfully ablated. It is due to release of IL-6 from cancerous cell. [1]
Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is an acute condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced with scar tissue and regenerative nodules as a result of chronic liver disease.
To make the distinction, abnormal liver function tests and/or ultrasound suggesting liver disease are required, and ideally a liver biopsy. [4] [9] The symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy may also arise from other conditions, such as bleeding in the brain and seizures (both of which are more common in chronic liver disease).