How is fatty liver diagnosed?
Most of the patients discover they suffer from a fatty liver following a routine blood tests performed for a different reason. Fatty liver is diagnosed in the blood test when there are elevated levels of liver enzymes. Many people find out the existence of the disease after donating blood that followed a rejection, or just a routine checkup.
The most important blood tests regarding fatty liver are two liver enzymes: SGOT (also called AST) and SGPT (also called ALT). Elevated levels of AST and/or ALT may suggest fatty liver. In non-alcoholic fatty liver, all of other liver blood tests are usually in their normal level. A more detailed explanation about the liver function blood test results can be found in the Understanding liver function blood test results article.
Before diagnosing a fatty liver, some questions needed to be asked. If the patients consumes excess amount of alcohol, then the cause is usually obvious. But when these enzymes are elevated in blood of non-drinkers, potential causes can be: viral hepatitis, hemochromatosis (iron overload), gallstones, cancer, or fatty liver.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver is usually suspected in any adult who has unexplained elevated level of liver enzymes in the blood tests, and who doesn’t drinks no more than 2 alcoholic drinks daily. To conclude the cause, additional blood tests are required to rule out other causes of liver disease.
When other causes are ruled out, the patient is also required to take an ultra-sound examination, where fatty liver is usually noticeable.
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