Liver Function Tests Health Article

Definition

Liver function tests, or LFTs, include tests for bilirubin, a breakdown product of hemoglobin, and ammonia, a protein byproduct that is normally converted into urea by the liver before being excreted by the kidneys. LFTs also commonly include tests to measure levels of several enzymes, which are special proteins that help the body break down and use (metabolize) other substances. Enzymes that are often measured in LFTs include gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT); alanine aminotransferase (ALT or SGPT); aspartate aminotransferase (AST or SGOT); and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). LFTs also may include prothrombin time (PT), a measure of how long it takes for the blood to clot.

Purpose

Liver function tests are used to aid in the differential diagnosis of liver disease and injury, and to help monitor response to treatment.

Precautions

Bilirubin: Drugs that may cause increased blood levels of total bilirubin include anabolic steroids, antibiotics, antimalarials, ascorbic acid, Diabinese, codeine, diuretics, epinephrine, oral contraceptives, and vitamin A.

Ammonia: Muscular exertion can increase ammonia levels, while cigarette smoking produces significant increases within one hour of inhalation. Drugs that may cause increased levels include alcohol, barbiturates, narcotics, and diuretics. Drugs that may decrease levels include broad-spectrum antibiotics, levodopa, lactobacillus, and potassium salts.

ALT: Drugs that may increase ALT levels include acetaminophen, ampicillin, codeine, dicumarol, indomethacin, methotrexate, oral contraceptives, tetracyclines, and verapamil. Previous intramuscular injections may cause elevated levels.

GGT: Drugs that may cause increased GGT levels include alcohol, phenytoin, and phenobarbital. Drugs that may cause decreased levels include oral contraceptives.

Description

The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. As the body's "chemical factory," it regulates the levels of most of the main blood chemicals and acts with the kidneys to clear the blood of drugs and toxic substances. The liver metabolizes these products, alters their chemical structure, makes them water soluble, and excretes them in bile.

Liver function tests are used to determine if the liver has been damaged or its function impaired. Elevations of certain liver tests in relation to others aids in that determination. For example, aminotransferases (which include ALT and AST) are notably elevated in liver damage caused by liver cell disease (hepatocellular disease). However, in intrahepatic obstructive disease—which may be caused by some drugs or biliary cirrhosis—the alkaline phosphatases are most abnormal.

Alanine aminotransferase

Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), formerly called serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase, or SGPT, is an enzyme necessary for energy production. It is present in a number of tissues, including the liver, heart, and skeletal muscles, but is found in the highest concentration in the liver. Because of this, it is used in conjunction with other liver enzymes to detect liver disease, especially hepatitis or cirrhosis without jaundice. Additionally, in conjunction with the aspartate aminotransferase test (AST), it helps to distinguish between heart damage and liver tissue damage.

Aspartate aminotransferase

Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), formerly called serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, or SGOT, is another enzyme necessary for energy production. It, too, may be elevated in liver and heart disease. In liver disease, the AST increase is usually less than the ALT increase. However, in liver disease caused by alcohol use, the AST increase may be two or three times greater than the ALT increase.

Alkaline phosphatase

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels usually include two similar enzymes (isoenzymes) that mainly come from the liver and bone and from the placenta in pregnant women. In some cases, doctors may order a test to differentiate between the alkaline phosphatase that originates in the liver and the alkaline phosphatase originating in bone. If a person has elevated ALP, does not have bone disease and is not pregnant, he or she may have a problem with the biliary tract, the system that makes and stores bile. (Bile is made in the liver, then passes through ducts to the gall bladder, where it is stored.)

Gamma-glutamyl transferase

Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), sometimes called gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGPT), is an enzyme that is compared with ALP levels to distinguish between skeletal disease and liver disease. Because GGT is not increased in bone disorders, as is ALP, a normal GGT with an elevated ALP would indicate bone disease. Conversely, because the GGT is more specifically related to the liver, an elevated GGT with an elevated ALP would strengthen the diagnosis of liver or bile-duct disease. The GGT has also been used as an indicator of heavy and chronic alcohol use, but its value in these situations has been questioned recently. It is also commonly elevated in patients with infectious mononucleosis.