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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.
The AST/ALT ratio or De Ritis ratio is the ratio between the concentrations of two enzymes, aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase, aka alanine aminotransferase (ALT), in the blood of a human or animal. It is used as one of several liver function tests, and measured with a blood test.
However, very high elevations of the transaminases suggests severe liver damage, such as viral hepatitis, liver injury from lack of blood flow, or injury from drugs or toxins. Most disease processes cause ALT to rise higher than AST; AST levels double or triple that of ALT are consistent with alcoholic liver disease .
FibroTest, known as FibroSure in the US, is a biomarker test that uses the results of six blood serum tests to generate a score that is correlated with the degree of liver damage in people with a variety of liver diseases. FibroTest has the same prognostic value as a liver biopsy.
Reference ranges (reference intervals) for blood tests are sets of values used by a health professional to interpret a set of medical test results from blood samples. Reference ranges for blood tests are studied within the field of clinical chemistry (also known as "clinical biochemistry", "chemical pathology" or "pure blood chemistry"), the ...
Simple blood tests may help to determine the magnitude of the disease by assessing the degree of liver fibrosis. [28] For example, AST-to-platelets ratio index (APRI score) and several other scores, calculated from the results of blood tests, can detect the degree of liver fibrosis and predict the future formation of liver cancer. [29]
Anti-mitochondrial antibodies (AMA) are autoantibodies, consisting of immunoglobulins formed against mitochondria, [1] primarily the mitochondria in cells of the liver.. The presence of AMA in the blood or serum of a person may be indicative of the presence of, or the potential to develop, the autoimmune disease primary biliary cholangitis (PBC; previously known as primary biliary cirrhosis).
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.