Hepatic

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that liver disease ranks ninth in causes of death, and 4.5 million adults in the United States have a liver disease diagnosis, leading to approximately 56000 deaths per year. 

The maintenance of a healthy hepatic system is important for overall health, with some causes of liver disease being preventable. For example, obesity leads to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease leading to liver cirrhosis, or alcohol consumption that damages the liver.

The liver is known to be the largest solid organ in the human body, and is important for over 500 important roles to support body metabolism, immunity, digestion, detoxification, vitamin storage, and more. Some of the critical roles of the liver include:

• Clearing drugs and toxic substances from the body 
• Converting food into energy
• Blood clotting homeostasis
• Converting ammonia from toxic form into urea for elimination
• Protein production

Hepatic tests focus on indicators of liver functioning such as the enzymes that reflect liver damage, with additional tests measuring protein levels and blood clotting abilities.

What do Hepatic Tests measure?

Hepatic tests usually analyze blood samples for enzymes or proteins that reflect liver functioning. A variety of testing panels use blood and urine. Some examples of tests include:

• Access Medical Labs' Protein, Total & Protein Electrophoresis: The protein in a serum sample is separated to determine albumin, Alpha-1, Alpha-2, Beta-1, Beta-2, and Gamma to help assess for collagen disease, inflammation, macroglobulinemia, abnormal proteins and plasma cell cancer.
• Doctor's Data's Hepatic Detox Profile: A urine sample is analyzed for D-glucaric acid and mercapturic acids which can help inform on the presence of chemical substances, liver disease and the liver’s ability to remove toxins.
• Access Medical Labs' Hepatic Function Panel: A serum sample is processed to identify liver function markers to assess hepatic function.

Along with hepatic testing, a physical examination, a health history, and identifying symptoms can be helpful in attaining a diagnosis. Symptoms that can reflect possible liver damage include itching, fatigue, and weight loss. Patients can present with confusion (due to ammonia), large abdomens with spider veins, yellowing to the eyes and skin (due to bilirubin), bleeding/poor clotting, and retention of fluid.

Based on the outcome of the patient assessment and hepatic testing, additional diagnostic and laboratory tests might be necessary such as ultrasound, CT, and MRI imaging. Additionally, if obesity is a concern, tests such as inflammation, gut dysfunction, and metabolic status can be beneficial.