Hepatitis - What A Doctor Will Do For Hepatitis

What A Doctor Will Do For Hepatitis

If you have symptoms associated with liver disease, it is wise to seek the help of a physician who can diagnose and evaluate your condition. The doctor will order tests that can help determine if you have hepatitis or another type of liver disease. The test most commonly requested is a liver panel, which can be ordered as part of a complete blood test (CBC) or separately. A physical examination in which the practitioner palpates the liver area to find tenderness or swelling is also useful.

If the blood test shows that certain enzymes, called GGT, AST, and ALT, are higher than the normal range, then it is likely that the liver is under stress, either from exposure to drugs or toxic chemicals (i.e., pesticides) or from an infection, viral or otherwise. For these enzymes, the following chart gives normal, moderately increased, and dangerously high levels.

TABLE 10:
Liver Enzymes

ENZYME	NORMAL RANGE *	MODERATELY ELEVATED	HIGHLY ELEVATED
GGT, a biliary enzyme that is used to monitor progression of liver disease	7 to 64 IU/L**	80 TO 120 IU/L	120 IU/L
AST (SGOT), an enzyme that increases in the blood when there is liver stress and/or damage to liver cells	10 TO 42 IU/L	80 TO 150 IU/L	150 IU/L (with severe liver damage, over 1.000 or 2,000)
ALT (SCPT), an enzyme that increases in the blood with serious damage to cells in the liver, heart and muscles.	10 TO 60 IU/L	80 TO 150 IU/L	150 IU/L (with severe liver damage, over 1,000 or 2,000)

* These values can vary, depending on the system and units of measure used.
** International units per liter

When the SGPT goes above 2,000, the chances of developing cirrhosis are greatly increased.

In the event your liver enzymes are higher than the normal range, and you have symptoms associated with liver stress or hepatitis, then it is likely that a test will be ordered to see if you have developed antibodies to one of the hepatitis pathogens. Tests are also available to see how much viral RNA is in your blood. If the test is positive for a hepatitis virus and the viral load is fairly high, a liver biopsy is often recommended. This procedure can provide information about the health of your liver and what type of disease process is present.

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