Blood Drug Testing

Would imminent alcoholic liver failure show up in blood tests?

I recently had a full series of blood tests including liver function tests, and all proved negative with 'callback' required with the doctor. If I had any serious or emerging liver problems caused by alcohol, would anything have shown up in these tests? I'm 56, used to definitely drink a bit too much, but now drink two or three bottles of real ale on four nights of the week...

Public Comments

1. You are in the clear. The tests would have shown a distinct increase in your Bilirubin should you have been under threat - look it up on the internet
2. You say full series, I'm a scientist working in a haematology lab and I have no idea what that entails. There are three main categories of liver disease brought on by alcohol: hepatic steatosis (fat build up in the liver), alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is more likely in people who are a bit on the larger side and there is a genetic component. I could go on and explain to you the type of pattern in liver enzymes and proteins we generally tend to see in those with alcoholic liver disease but unless you're a scientist then it wont mean much to you. Basically, liver failure would show up on biochemical tests. Early stages of liver disease may not be so obvious but imminent failure should, saying that once the liver has failed it can appear to be getting better due to decreasing enzyme levels but this can be misleading as the liver can be so far gone that it has effectively stopped sending out these "distress signals". If a clotting screen was done (if a blue topped tube was used to collect some of your blood then a clotting screen would have been done) then this could indicate liver problems as the liver plays an important role in producing essential parts of the coagulation cascade. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is the tests would have shown up abnormalities if liver failure was close.
3. Ι think it's better seeing a doctor in person to answer this kind of questions