This test is used to detect abnormal blood chloride levels in order to monitor a variety of health condition high blood pressure, heart failure, kidney disease, or liver disease. These conditions can cause an electrolyte imbalance. It is performed along with other electrolyte tests to indicate the patient's acid-base balance and hydrational status. Electrolyte panels or basic metabolic panels are commonly used to monitor treatment of certain problems, including high blood pressure (hypertension), heart failure, and liver and kidney disease.
Total Cholesterol test measures all types of cholesterol in your blood. Cholesterol is an important normal body constituent, used in the structure of cell membranes, synthesis of bile acids, and synthesis of steroid hormones. Since cholesterol is water insoluble, most serum (the noncellular portion of blood) cholesterol is carried by lipoproteins (chylomicrons, VLDL, LDL, and HDL). The most abundant steroid in animal tissue, cholesterol is the precursor to major steroid hormones such as Cortisol, DHEA, testesterone and estrogen. The body synthesizes 60-80% of its cholesterol, primarily in the liver and intestine, and derives the remainder from the diet.Total Cholesterol serves as a marker for both cardiovascular disease and oxidative stress. High total cholestrol level increases the risk for Heart disease. It is a part of lipid Profile. It is always advisable to go for complete profile, as level of each test in profile are considered while making decision on diagnosis as well as monitoring the treatment.
This test helps to measure amount of cholinesterase in blood. It can be used to detect and diagnose organophosphate pesticide exposure and/or poisoning. It may also be used to monitor those who may be at increased risk of exposure to organophosphate compounds, such as those who work in agricultural and chemical industries, and to monitor those who are being treated for exposure. It can be used several days prior to a surgical procedure to determine if someone with a history of or family history of post-operative paralysis following the use of succinylcholine, a common muscle relaxant used for anesthesia, is at risk of having this reaction.
A CK-MB test may be used as a follow-up test to an elevated CK in order to determine whether the increase is due to heart damage or skeletal muscle damage. The test is most likely to be ordered if a person has chest pain or if a person's diagnosis is unclear, such as if a person has nonspecific symptoms like shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, dizziness, or nausea.
CK and CK-MB were once the primary tests ordered to detect and monitor heart attacks, but they have now been largely replaced by the troponin test, which is more specific for damage to the heart.
This test measures the amount of copper in blood. It is used to check for a deficiency or toxic level of copper in the body. This test is also used when disorders of copper metabolism, such as Wilson's disease, are suspected. Abnormal copper results are not diagnostic of a specific condition; they indicate the need for further investigation. Typically, a total blood copper test is ordered along with a ceruloplasmin level.
A C-peptide test measures the level of this peptide in the blood. It is generally found in amounts equal to insulin because insulin and C-peptide are linked when first made by the pancreas. Insulin helps the body use and control the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Insulin allows glucose to enter body cells where it is used for energy. The level of C-peptide in the blood can show how much insulin is being made by the pancreas. C-peptide does not affect the blood sugar level in the body. A C-peptide test can be done when diabetes has just been found and it is not clear whether type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes is present. A person whose pancreas does not make any insulin (type 1 diabetes) has a low level of insulin and C-peptide. A person with type 2 diabetes can have a normal or high level of C-peptide. A C-peptide test can also help find the cause of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), such as excessive use of medicine to treat diabetes or a noncancerous growth (tumor) in the pancreas (insulinoma).
The CPK test is a laboratory test that measures the level of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) in the blood and is used to detect muscle damage in the body. CPK acts as a marker to diagnose problems such as heart attack, determine the cause of chest pain, neurological disorders, death of muscular tissue, convulsions and to give information about the muscular dystrophy status of a patient. Low CPK levels are indicative of acute viral hepatitis and alcoholic liver disease. Thus, a CPK blood test would help diagnose several medical conditions and helps in treatment before further damage is caused. A CK test may be ordered whenever muscle damage is suspected and at regular intervals to monitor for continued damage. It may be ordered when someone has experienced physical trauma, such as crushing injuries or extensive burns. The test may be ordered when a person has symptoms associated with muscle injury such as muscle pain or weakness and when a person has nonspecific symptoms, especially when taking a drug or after an exposure to a substance that has been linked with potential muscle damage. The CK test may sometimes be ordered when a person has chest pain and a heart attack is suspected. It may be ordered after a heart attack has been diagnosed to monitor for ongoing heart damage.
Creatinine test is a laboratory test used to measure level of creatinine in blood. Creatinine is a waste product that is produced continuously during normal muscle breakdown. The kidneys filter creatinine from the blood into the urine, and reabsorb almost none of it. Serum creatinine is widely used as a test of renal function both as a general screen, along with urine protein, for renal disease, and as a test for serial monitoring of renal function. When the kidneys are functioning normally, the serum creatinine level should remain constant and normal. Slight increases in creatine levels can appear after meals, especially after ingestion of large quantities of meat, and some diurnal variation may occur, with a low point at 7 A.M. and a peak at 7 P.M. Serious renal disorders, such as glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis, and urinary obstruction, will cause abnormal elevations. The creatinine level is interpreted in conjunction with another kidney function test called the Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN). The serum creatinine level has much the same significance as the BUN but tends to rise later. Because of this, determinations of creatinine help to chronicle a disease process. Generally, a doubling of creatinine suggests a 50% reduction in kidney filtration rate.
Electrolyte is a test used to detect, evaluate, and monitor electrolyte imbalances. Electrolyte panels or basic metabolic panels are commonly used to monitor treatment of certain problems, including high blood pressure (hypertension), heart failure, and liver and kidney disease. Electrolyte tests are used for diagnosing dietary deficiencies, excess loss of nutrients due to urination, vomiting, and diarrhea, or abnormal shifts in the location of an electrolyte within the body. When an abnormal electrolyte value is detected, the physician may either act to immediately correct the imbalance directly (in the case of an emergency) or run further tests to determine the underlying cause of the abnormal electrolyte value. Electrolyte disturbances can occur with malfunctioning of the kidney (renal failure), infections that produce severe and continual diarrhea or vomiting, drugs that cause loss of electrolytes in the urine (diuretics), poisoning due to accidental consumption of electrolytes, or diseases involving hormones that regulate electrolyte concentrations.
The ethanol test, commonly known as alcohol test, is used for both medical and legal purposes. Samples and results for each use are usually collected and tested separately. medical testing is used to determine the level of ethanol in the blood in order to effectively treat the intoxicated person's symptoms. Blood is the most common sample used for medical alcohol tests. The tests may be ordered for a person who presents to the emergency room with signs and symptoms suggesting ethanol toxicity. Other tests, such as a complete blood count (CBC), glucose, and electrolyte measurement, are often ordered at the same time because there are a variety of other conditions that can cause symptoms similar to ethanol intoxication. Overdose testing, drugs of abuse testing, and testing for the presence of other toxic alcohols such as methanol and isopropyl alcohol may also be performed if a person is suspected of ingesting or using other substances. Legal (Forensic): legal testing is used to identify the presence of alcohol and to evaluate its presence in the context of a variety of different laws. Post-mortem ethanol testing may be done to determine whether alcohol contributed to a person's death. Legal ethanol testing may also be performed randomly as part of an employer's drug testing program or it may be performed "with cause" as part of an investigation after an on-the-job accident has occurred. It may also be done as part of an application for life insurance.
The glucose tolerance test, also known as the oral glucose tolerance test, measures your body's response to sugar (glucose). The glucose tolerance test can be used to screen for type 2 diabetes. More commonly, a modified version of the glucose tolerance test is used to diagnose gestational diabetes — a type of diabetes that develops only during pregnancy. The glucose tolerance test identifies abnormalities in the way your body handles glucose after a meal — often before your fasting blood glucose level becomes abnormal. With an oral glucose tolerance test, the person fasts overnight (at least 8 hours, but not more than 16 hours). The next morning, the fasting plasma glucose is tested. After this test, the person receives a dose of oral glucose (the dose depends upon the length of the test). Usually, the glucose is in a sweet-tasting liquid that the person drinks. Blood samples are taken up to four times at different time points after consumption of the sugar to measure the blood glucose.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) enzyme testing is used to screen for and help diagnose G6PD deficiencies. A G6PD deficiency is an inherited disorder that can lead to a certain type of anemia known as hemolytic anemia. G6PD helps red blood cells function normally. It also protects them from potentially harmful by-products that can accumulate when the body is fighting infection, or as the result of certain medications. G6PD protects oxygen-rich red blood cells (RBCs) from chemicals called reactive oxygen, which build up in the body during a fever, infection, or when taking certain medications. If there is an insufficient amount of G6PD, RBCs will not be protected from these chemicals. The blood cells will die, leading to anemia.
The gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) test may be used to determine the cause of elevated alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Both ALP and GGT are elevated in disease of the bile ducts and in some liver diseases, but only ALP will be elevated in bone disease. GGT is more responsive to biliary obstruction than are aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/ (SGOT) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) /(SGPT).GGT discriminates the source of elevated ALP. It is utilized as a supplementary test to be sure that the elevation of ALP is indeed coming from the liver or biliary tract. In contrast to the ALP, GGT is not elevated in diseases of bone, placenta or intestine.GGT is markedly increased in lesions that cause intrahepatic or extrahepatic obstruction of bile ducts.
GGT can be used to screen for chronic alcohol abuse (it will be elevated in about 75% of chronic drinkers) and to monitor for alcohol use and/or abuse in people who are receiving treatment for alcoholism or alcoholic hepatitis.
The hemoglobin A1c test, also called HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin test, or glycohemoglobin, is an important blood test that shows how well your diabetes is being controlled. Formation of Glycosylated hemoglobin is essentially irreversible and the blood levels depend on both the life span of red blood cell (average 120 days) and blood glucose concentration. Once glucose attaches to haemoglobin, it doesn't let it go. It's there for the lifetime of the red blood cell, which, in total is several months as new red blood cells are continually being made and others are dying. All this means that a glycohemoglobin test shows your average blood glucose level over the previous 6-8 weeks. It is therefore called a test with memory. Therefore, they represent integrated values for glucose over the preceding six to eight weeks. Increased synthesis of haemoglobin A1c correlates with lack of glucose control; in diabetics with good glucose control, the amount of Haemoglobin A1c returns to the reference levels. The HbA1c test should be done every three to six months, depending on the treatment program and level of control of diabetes.The ADA recommends that the HbA1c level first are measured at the time of diagnosis and initiation of treatment. Thereafter, the test should be done at least twice a year in people with non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes who do not use insulin; four times a year in people with insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes or those with type II diabetes who use insulin.
The gastrin test is primarily ordered to help detect excess production of gastrin and gastric acid. It is ordered to help diagnose gastrin-producing tumors called gastrinomas. Serum gastrin levels may also be elevated in gastric distention due to gastric outlet obstruction, and in a variety of conditions that lead to real or functional gastric hypo- or achlorhydria .