Liver Function Test (LFT)
One panel reads bilirubin, liver enzymes and proteins — for jaundice, fatty liver and medicine safety checks.
The liver function test is a panel of markers that together describe how the liver is coping. Bilirubin — the yellow pigment behind jaundice — shows whether the liver is clearing waste; the enzymes ALT (SGPT) and AST (SGOT) leak into the blood when liver cells are inflamed or injured; ALP and GGT point towards the bile channels; and albumin, a protein the liver manufactures, reflects its longer-term capacity. The pattern across these values, not any single number, is what tells a viral hepatitis apart from a fatty liver or a medicine side effect.
The liver rarely complains early — it has enormous reserve, so damage runs quietly, and 'fatty liver' now turns up on reports of people who have never touched alcohol, driven by sugar and weight rather than drink. An LFT is how jaundice recovery is tracked week by week, and how long-term medicines are confirmed to be sitting safely. The sample is processed in-house and most routine reports come the same day, read at Dr. Khanna's desk against your history rather than in isolation.
Who should consider this
- Yellowing of the eyes or skin, dark urine, or pale stools — the classic jaundice picture
- Recovering jaundice or hepatitis patients whose bilirubin needs tracking until it normalises
- Anyone told they have fatty liver on an ultrasound, to see whether the liver is inflamed or merely storing fat
- People on long-term medicines that can burden the liver, as a periodic safety check
- Regular alcohol drinkers, in whom liver damage builds silently for years
- Persistent nausea, poor appetite, upper-right abdominal heaviness or unexplained itching
- Diabetics and the overweight, in whom fatty liver is common enough to warrant screening
How to prepare
Usually no special preparation needed
- Fasting is generally not required for an LFT; if it is being clubbed with fasting sugar or lipids, we will tell you when you book
- Avoid alcohol for at least 24 hours before the test — a recent drinking session can raise enzymes and muddy the reading
- Tell us every medicine and supplement you take, including ayurvedic and herbal preparations, since several affect liver values
- Carry previous LFT or ultrasound reports; in jaundice, the direction of the bilirubin trend is the whole story
What happens at the clinic
The LFT needs only a single blood draw from the arm, over in a minute or two, with no waiting between steps — the entire visit for just the test is typically under ten minutes. The sample goes straight to our own laboratory in the same building, which is what keeps routine reporting within the same day rather than the two-to-three-day wait of an outsourced sample.
Your report, and what happens next
Most routine LFT reports are ready the same day. Dr. Khanna reads the pattern — which values are up, by how much, and in what combination — and matches it to your situation: a jaundice patient watches bilirubin fall week by week; a fatty-liver patient with raised enzymes gets a concrete plan on sugar, weight and alcohol with a repeat test in a few months; someone on long-term medicines gets either an all-clear or a dose review. Mild, isolated enzyme bumps are often just rechecked after a few weeks before anything is changed.
What it costs
The standard LFT is billed as one panel. The total changes when it is combined with related tests — hepatitis markers in jaundice, or sugar and lipid profiles in fatty liver, where the causes overlap — and those combinations usually cost less as a bundle than as separate tests on separate days.
Call +91 73148 55445 for today's rate — it takes a minute and there are no surprise charges.
Common questions
Do I need to fast before a liver function test?
Usually not — an LFT on its own can be done any time of day. It is often combined with fasting sugar or a lipid profile in one sitting, and then the fast is for those tests. We will tell you exactly what applies when you book.
My report says SGPT is slightly raised. Should I worry?
A mild, isolated rise is common and often traces to fatty liver, a recent illness, alcohol or a medicine — not to serious disease. What matters is the pattern and the trend, so the usual step is to address the likely cause and repeat the test after some weeks rather than panic over one value.
I do not drink alcohol at all. How can I have a fatty liver?
Non-alcoholic fatty liver is now the commoner kind, driven by excess sugar, refined carbohydrates and body weight — the liver stores the surplus as fat. It is very responsive in its early stage: weight loss and sugar control can reverse it, which is why catching it on an LFT and ultrasound is genuinely good luck.
How often should the LFT be repeated during jaundice recovery?
Typically every one to two weeks until bilirubin is clearly falling, then at longer gaps until it normalises — your doctor sets the exact rhythm by how the first reports move. Same-day reporting helps here, since each result decides how strictly the rest and diet need to continue.
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