6. LFTs Flashcards
What’s included in LFTs?
Albumin - synthetic function ALT - more related to liver than AST AST ALP Bilirubin
What can low albumin mean?
Chronic liver disease
Renal cause
What does increased ALT suggest?
Acute liver damage
What does increased AST suggest?
Chronic liver damage
What does raised ALP suggest?
Bile duct obstruction - cholestasis
Confirm with Gamma-GT
Why can a raised unconjugated bilirubin be bad?
It’s can cross blood brain barrier and damage brain, especially in neonates
Why do we do LFTs?
Healthy - baseline LFTs
Liver conditions - monitor
Suspected liver pathology
If someone has obstructed common bile duct, how would you describe their LFTs?
Obstructive pattern on LFTs
What does a raised ALT and AST but other LFTs are normal suggest?
Hepatocellular damage
If there was raised bilirubin but all other LFTs were normal what does this suggest?
Pre-hepatic jaundice from haemolysis, possible haemolytic anaemia
If a patient has high bilirubin and ALP but normal ALT and AST, what does this suggest?
Obstruction in common bile duct - posterior-hepatic jaundice
Likely to be acute pancreatitis due to gallstone in common bike duct blocking pancreatic duct
If ALP is raised but all other LFTs are normal, what does this suggest?
Obstructive pattern
If a patient has increased ALT, AST, ALP and bilirubin, what does this suggest? The patient has colon cancer and jaundice
Liver metastasis
Compression on bile ducts - post hepatic jaundice
Damaged hepatocytes - hepatic jaundice
What is the most common cause of both hepatic and post-hepatic jaundice presenting together?
Malignancy
