All You Need to Know about Liver Function Tests

Conclusion and summary

We usually think of AST and ALT as liver enzymes or liver function tests, but there are many others. For example, we have other important enzymes such as GGT and alkaline phosphatase. Plus, we can measure liver function by evaluating the synthetic function of the organ. This can be done by measuring our albumin levels and prothrombin time.

Each one of these tests has its own patterns in each disease. In conditions such as viral hepatitis and alcoholic liver disease, there’s a significant alteration in the liver structure associated with high transaminase levels. On the contrary, if there’s a biliary obstruction or a bilirubin problem, we will have alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin rises in the blood. In other conditions such as cirrhosis, there is a synthetic function problem.

Thus, liver function tests should be interpreted together, and they are usually not enough to give a final diagnosis. Instead, they provide useful guidance to evaluate liver health and guide the diagnosis according to the patient’s signs and symptoms.

References

Lala, V., Goyal, A., Bansal, P., & Minter, D. (2020). Liver function tests. StatPearls.

Thapa, B. R., & Walia, A. (2007). Liver function tests and their interpretation. The Indian Journal of Pediatrics, 74(7), 663-671.

Limdi, J. K., & Hyde, G. M. (2003). Evaluation of abnormal liver function tests. Postgraduate medical journal, 79(932), 307-312.

Gowda, S., Desai, P. B., Hull, V. V., Math, A. A. K., Vernekar, S. N., & Kulkarni, S. S. (2009). A review on laboratory liver function tests. The Pan African Medical Journal, 3.