How to decipher a biochemical blood test: the rate of indicators

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This is a quick way to check your liver, kidneys, blood sugar and metabolic quality.

Why do you need a biochemical blood test

The meaning of a biochemical blood test (BAC) can be explained in a nutshell. If a general blood test (CBC) gives an idea of the state of the body as a whole, then the LHC adds details - it tells the Chemistry Panel whether specific organs and systems are healthy.

A biochemical blood test helps to detect liver and kidney diseases, diabetes and other ailments.

In addition, the LHC allows you to find out if everything is in order with the blood sugar level, metabolism and what important vitamins, micro- and macroelements, hormones, enzymes the body lacks for normal functioning.

What does a biochemical blood test show

Your lab technician will draw a few milliliters of blood from your vein. This must be done on an empty stomach - 8-12 Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP), Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) hours after the last meal. The sample is then examined for several key components. They are classified into Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) groups.

Glucose

Or blood sugar. Glucose is a source of energy for the cells of the body. The body regulates the amount in the blood through various hormones (such as insulin) and enzymes. If there is too much or too little sugar, then something is wrong with the endocrine or excretory system.

Protein

• Albumen … It is a protein made by the liver. Blood plasma is approximately 60% albumin.
• Total protein … There are several dozen different proteins in the blood. Total protein is their average total amount.
• Specific proteins … These are separate types of blood proteins, a change in the level of which can be associated with serious diseases. Specific include, in particular, C-reactive protein (it signals an acute inflammatory process in the body), ferritin (needed for normal absorption of iron), myoglobin (creates the necessary supply of oxygen in the muscles, including the heart), rheumatoid factor (antibodies that are produced only in case of serious diseases: infectious, muscle and connective tissues, autoimmune, oncological and others). Analysis for specific proteins is not always included in the standard LHC. If a doctor wants to find out the content of a specific substance in the blood, he will write about it in the direction of research.

Lipids

The so-called 10 Important Blood Tests lipid panel allows you to check the level of various types of cholesterol.

• High-density lipoprotein (HDL) … This is the so-called good cholesterol, which removes harmful substances from the blood and helps the liver break them down.
• Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) … We are talking about "bad" cholesterol, which causes the formation of plaque in blood vessels and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Total cholesterol … The sum of the values "good" and "bad".

Hepatic tests

This is the name of a biochemical blood test, an assessment of the level of certain enzymes associated with the state of the liver.

• Total bilirubin … It is an orange-yellow pigment that forms when hemoglobin breaks down. Bilirubin is toxic, so the liver normally quickly removes it from the body. But if hemoglobin is destroyed too actively or the liver cannot cope with normal volumes of bilirubin, the level of pigment in the blood rises sharply. This often manifests itself externally - yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice).
• Alanine aminotransferase (ALT, ALT) … Hepatic enzyme required for amino acid metabolism. Its level rises with liver damage.
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AsAt, AST) … Another enzyme that is released into the bloodstream in case of serious disorders in the liver.
• Alkaline phosphatase … It is an enzyme involved in phosphorus metabolism. Its increase is also a marker of liver problems.

Kidney tests

• Creatinine … It is a waste product that is formed in the muscles. It is removed from the blood by the kidneys, so the level of creatinine is a good indicator of the work of this paired organ.
• Uric acid … It is formed in the liver and, again, is excreted from the blood by the kidneys. If they fail (or, conversely, are unhealthily active), the level of uric acid in the blood rises (or falls).
• Urea … It is also formed in the liver, where protein breakdown occurs, and is excreted from the blood by the kidneys.

Inorganic substances (minerals, electrolytes) and vitamins

• Calcium … One of the most important minerals in the body. Without it, normal work of muscles, nerves, heart is impossible. In addition, it is critical for bone development and repair.
• Sodium … Responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses and helps to absorb calcium.
• Magnesium … Like sodium, it is actively involved in the transmission of nerve impulses.
• Chlorine … Helps regulate body fluids and maintain acid-base balance.
• Potassium … Critical for normal heart function.
• Iron … It is necessary for the delivery of oxygen to organs and tissues.
• Phosphorus … The nervous, muscular and skeletal systems are in great need of it.
• Folic acid … It participates in a huge number of processes in the body - from the absorption of amino acids and glucose to the production of blood.
• Vitamin B12 … Essential for the production of red blood cells - erythrocytes.

What are the norms of blood counts with LHC

The form with the results of a biochemical blood test, as a rule, is a three-column table. In the first - the name of the indicator, in the second - the range of its normal values, in the third - your result.

To check the norm, be guided first of all by the numbers indicated on the form given to you. The fact is that laboratories conduct tests on different reagents and under different conditions. Therefore, the ranges of optimal values may vary somewhat for the Bilirubin blood test depending on the organization that processed your analysis. For you, only one thing is important: to check whether the result falls within the limits of the norms established by a particular laboratory.

The figures below are indicative for the most common indicators.

Index	The norm for an adult
Glucose Blood sugar test	3, 9-5, 6 mmol / l
Albumin Albumin blood (serum) test	34-54 g / l
Total protein	60–83 g / l
HDL Cholesterol Cholesterol Levels: What You Need to Know	40 mg / dL and above - for men; 50 mg / dL and above - for women
LDL cholesterol	Less than 100 mg / dL
Total cholesterol	125-200 mg / dL
Total bilirubin Bilirubin blood test	1.71–20.5 μmol / L
AlAt, ALT Alanine transaminase (ALT) blood test	4–36 units / l
AsAt, AST Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) blood test	8–33 units / l
Alkaline Phosphatase: An Overview	20-140 units / l
Creatinine test	74-107 μmol / l
Uric acid Uric acid - blood	3.5-7.2 mg / dL
Urea Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) test	2.5-7.1 mmol / l
Calcium Serum Calcium - Clinical Methods	2, 2–2, 7 mmol / l

How to decipher a biochemical blood test

This can and should only be done by the doctor who issued you a referral for analysis. For the reason that many different factors affect blood biochemistry.

Thus, an increased blood glucose level in Blood Test Results can be both a symptom of prediabetes or diabetes, or a sign that you were irresponsible in the analysis and, for example, drank sweet coffee in front of it.

There are other examples as well. Elevated liver function tests are a marker of hepatitis, and sometimes cirrhosis. But at the same time, ALT and AST can rise if you are treated for a bacterial infection with antibiotics and other medications. Decreased urea levels are a sign of serious liver damage. Or banal malnutrition if you are on a strict diet.

In general, we will repeat it again. The LHC should only be decoded by a doctor who is observing you. It is unacceptable to independently disassemble the test results and even more so to start self-medication on their basis.