Liver Function Test

A liver panel is a group of tests that are performed together to detect, evaluate, and monitor liver disease or damage. The liver is one of the largest organs in the body and is located in the upper right-hand part of the abdomen and behind the lower ribs. The liver metabolises and detoxifies drugs and substances that are harmful to the body. It produces blood clotting factors, proteins, and enzymes, helps maintain hormone balances, and stores vitamins and minerals. Bile, a fluid produced by the liver, is transported through ducts directly to the small intestine to help digest fats or to the gallbladder to be stored and concentrated for later use.

A variety of diseases and infections can cause acute or chronic damage to the liver, causing inflammation (hepatitis), scarring (cirrhosis), bile duct obstructions, liver tumours, and liver dysfunction. Alcohol, drugs, some herbal supplements, and toxins can also pose a threat. A significant amount of liver damage may be present before symptoms such as jaundice, dark urine, light-coloured stools, itching (pruritus), nausea, fatigue, diarrhoea, and unexplained weight loss or gain emerge. Early detection is essential in order to minimise damage and preserve liver function.

The liver panel measures enzymes, proteins, and substances that are produced, processed or eliminated by the liver and are affected by liver injury. Some are released by damaged liver cells and some reflect a decrease in the liver's ability to perform one or more of its functions. When performed together, these tests give a healthcare practitioner a snapshot of the health of a person's liver, an indication of the potential severity of any liver injury, change in liver status over time, and a starting place for further diagnostic testing.

Hepatitis Screening
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. Most often, hepatitis is caused by infection with certain viruses. However, liver inflammation can also result from exposure to chemicals, over-the-counter or prescription drugs, heavy alcohol use, inherited diseases, autoimmune disease, or fatty buildup in the liver.

Hepatitis can be acute, flaring up and then resolving within a few weeks to months, or chronic, enduring over many years. Chronic hepatitis may persist for 20 years or more before causing significant symptoms related to progressive liver damage, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer, and can cause death.

The liver is a vital organ located in the upper right-hand side of the abdomen. It performs many functions in the body, including processing the body's nutrients, producing bile to help digest fats, synthesizing many important proteins, regulating blood clotting, and breaking down potentially toxic substances into harmless ones that the body can use or eliminate. In severe cases, liver inflammation may interfere with these processes and allow potentially toxic substances to build up.

The following table summarises some common types of hepatitis:

There are different tests for hepatitis A and B. A positive test may mean:

• You currently have a hepatitis infection. This may be a new infection (acute hepatitis), or it may be an infection that you have had for a long time (chronic hepatitis).

• You had a hepatitis infection in the past, but you no longer have the infection and can't spread it to others.

Hepatitis A test results:

• IgM anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) antibodies, you have had a recent infection with hepatitis A.
• Total (IgM and IgG) antibodies to hepatitis A, you have a previous or past infection, or immunity to hepatitis A

Hepatitis B test results:

• Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg): you have an active hepatitis B infection, either recent or chronic (long-term)
• Antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (Anti-HBc), you have a recent or past hepatitis B infection
• Antibody to HBsAg (Anti-HBs): you have a past hepatitis B infection or you have received the hepatitis B vaccine and are unlikely to become infected
• Hepatitis B type e antigen (HBeAg): you have a chronic hepatitis B infection and you are more likely to spread the infection to others through sexual contact or by sharing needles

Hepatitis C test results:
Antibodies to hepatitis C can most often be detected 4 to 10 weeks after you get the infection. Other types of tests may be done to decide on treatment and monitor the hepatitis C infection.

Source: Testing.com - https://www.testing.com/

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