If you receive your lab results of blood tests for liver function tests, you may be worried when you find elevated SGOT and SGPT tests and results may be abnormal due to several reasons and an endless causes, because the liver function is very important to detoxify the blood from all toxic substances, so that the inflammation of the liver is serious and not diagnostic by raise in SGOT and SGPT levels only,
I will explain that and later we will discuss real cases that have liver diseases and will try to interpreting results to understand what is the liver health is?
Why my liver function test show high liver enzymes results?
It is a complicated answer, to know why, however other tests must be ordered; all Liver function tests or as abbreviated as LFTs “ALT Alanine amino transferase, which sometimes written as SGPT, SGPT, Albumin, Total Protein, Alkaline Phosphates, Gama glutamyl transferase, Bilirubin: consists of two analytes, direct bilirubin and In-Direct Bilirubin, GGT, 5’ nucleotides”
1- if all of them are normal and only SGOT (AST), and SGPT (ALT) are high: also there is many expectations: when ALT/AST are high but close to normal it may be not pathogenic, but if the normal was 40 IU/L and your lab result is around 60 it may be a liver disease and usually doctors suspect a hepatic viruses of B, or C type
2- Carry HCV test, and HBV tests, to know if the highness of ALT/AST is due to viral hepatitis,
3- Order another blood test of alcohols and lipid tests in serum to know if it is a fatty liver disease or alcoholic disease of liver
4- If not, it is suspected to be immunology disease or hereditary which is very rare
Abnormal test results of liver tests may be:
Asymptomatic, so that may be neglected by doctors, and serum of patient not investigated for liver enzymes
Elevated liver enzymes may be secondary to a disease or disorder other than hebatic route.
However in the normal persons liver enzymes may a little elevated by 2 SD which may be represent about 3.0% of a healthy population will have LFTs outside the normal range
Recommended confirmatory tests:
simple step by step guide what should you do when your liver function test results is high?
1- Prothormbin time and determination of INR: help in confirm the elevated liver enzymes, in which if High Prothrombin time ratio means that the elevation in liver enzymes is due to disease of the liver, may be there is a liver disease and persons have normal PT time so that we move to second confirmatory test…
2- Albumin and total protein in serum: high Albumin is caused by severe liver diseases
3- Hepatitis B, C: help identify if the elevation in LFT is due to hepatitis of any type of B, C viruses.
4- If not hepatic disease, carry out a lipogram test (serum cholesterol, serum triglyceride), to ensure that not due to fatty liver
5- Carry bilirubin test: to confirm if there is chronic liver disease or not (usually associated with other liver function test (LFT) abnormalities).
6- ALP test: alkaline phosphates is a common test which identify liver problems due to destruction of hepatic cells
Again I will integrate many lab results for persons who have high elevation in lever function tests and liver enzymes, you can add yours
