What other tests could help doctors diagnose liver conditions?
PT blood tests are only an indirect measure of liver conditions. Other important exams include:
- Bilirubin blood levels if we’re considering cholestasis as a possible cause
- Albumin levels if we’re considering a reduction in the synthetic function of the liver.
- Serologic tests to consider an infectious hepatitis disease
- An ultrasound scan to rule out cirrhosis and other advanced complications of liver disease.
References
Yang, R., & Moosavi, L. (2020). Prothrombin time. StatPearls [Internet].
Lala, V., Goyal, A., Bansal, P., & Minter, D. (2020). Liver function tests. StatPearls.
Chaudhry, R., & Babiker, H. M. (2019). Physiology, coagulation pathways. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
Shikdar, S., & Bhattacharya, P. T. (2019). International normalized ratio (INR). In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
