One of the most common abnormalities in an insurance exam lab is an elevated liver function test. Although they may be generated by other tissues in the body, an unexplained elevation of one or more liver function tests is a concern for impaired liver function.
Elevations in SGOT (or AST) and SGPT (or ALT) are usually caused by liver damage, which allows these enzymes to be released out of the cells. The GGT (or GGTP) test is a very sensitive enzyme for the detection of early liver disease or damage. It also is an inducible enzyme, meaning that it will rise when the liver is busy metabolizing some types of drugs or toxins (like alcohol).
Many impairments may cause elevations in one or more of the liver enzymes, including hepatitis, cirrhosis, fatty liver, excess alcohol use, liver cancer or metastases, as well as certain medications such as Dilantin, phenobarbital, allopurinol, and many others.
In next blogpost, we will discuss what questions the insurance applicant needs be prepared to answer during underwriting.