Liver Function Test (8) Test

Liver Function Test is commonly referred to as the LFT are a group of blood tests. These tests are run on the patient’s blood sample to know which liver disorder the patient is suffering from, besides knowing about the extent of damage to the liver so as to proceed with the correct treatment. The correct functioning of liver is vital to a person’s body as it helps in purifying the blood, store energy, breakdown food, make proteins etc. The LFT’s aid in checking and identifying the levels of certain proteins and enzymes in the blood and if the levels are found to be lower or higher than the standard range, a problem is diagnosed.

As the Liver Function Test includes giving the blood samples, the doctor will give you all the necessary details about avoiding certain foods (fasting) before the test. Also, he might give you instructions to avoid some medication. Avoiding food and medication is important as they would affect the level of proteins and other enzymes in the patient’s and will hamper the diagnosis. So it is crucial to follow what the doctor says. While going for the test, make sure to wear a loose sleeveless or short-sleeved dress; in case of longer sleeves, make sure to wear something which can be easily rolled up.

The liver is an important organ of a human body which performs several vital functions. The LFT is used to determine the following: Detecting jaundice Liver infections like hepatitis Understand the severity of the disease (for example liver cirrhosis in the case of alcoholics) Monitoring the side effects of certain medication which is known to affect the liver Prior to pregnancy.

Once you go to the hospital/any medical facility, just like any other blood test, the doctor will start off by Cleaning the skin of the area from where blood needs to be drawn in order to prevent micro-organisms contaminating the test Then they will wrap your arm in a pressure device and pump the machine thereby tightening the area. Doing this helps the veins to become visible. A needle is then used to draw the blood (this takes hardly a minute) Once the major step is done, the doctor will give put a gauze or cotton over the needle mark to prevent blood from oozing out