• What Does it All Mean?

• Why are labs important?
• Why do I need to understand my labs?
• 6 tests that track your liver health
• What’s normal, what’s not
• Good questions to ask your doctor

• Lab tests can help you and your healthcare provider to:

• When you are first diagnosed with Hepatitis C (HCV)

• Even when you are feeling OK, labs can tell you things about your body that you may not be able to see or feel

• “Normal” or “Reference Range” values                      can be found on a lab report
• Values can vary from lab to lab
• Your lab results can be low, high or within normal range
• If your labs are too high or too low, you will see an “H” or an “L” to one side of the reference range.
•          Ask your provider what is normal for you.

• Antibody Test
• Viral Load
• Genotype
• Complete Blood Count (CBC)
• Liver Function Panel
• Liver Biopsy or Ultrasound

• Tells you if you’ve ever been exposed to

• CBC measures the amount of:
• Red Blood Cells
• Carry oxygen throughout the body

• Measuring your Hematocrit, Hemoglobin



• Hematocrit (HCT)
• Percentage of red blood cells in your total
• blood volume

• Low HCT/HGB = Anemia
• May Be Caused By:
• Medications (Ribavirin)
• Low folic acid, iron deficiency
• Internal/External Blood Loss
• Other Diseases

• Reported as number of cells per cubic millimeter of blood (cells/mm3)



• Low Neutrophil Count = Neutropenia
• May be caused by interferon


• Low WBC = Leukopenia may be caused by:
• May be caused by medications, chemotherapy, other diseases


• High WBC may be caused by infections

• Reported as # of platelets per cubic micro liter of blood (mm3)



• If too low, excessive bleeding can occur
• Low platelets = thrombocytopenia may be caused
• by medications, disease



• If too high, blood clots can form and clog blood vessels → stroke, heart attack

• Two important liver enzyme tests:
• ALT: a test that is specific to the liver
• Measures inflammation, not scarring.



• AST: levels can be affected by other organs, not just liver
• High numbers can mean acute damage to the liver
• Inflammation could also be caused by medications, alcohol,
• other diseases.
•      Half of all people with severe liver damage
•      have normal ALT’s!

• Albumin: a major protein in blood, made by the liver.
• Low albumin may mean your liver isn’t working well.



• Bilirubin: a breakdown product from old red          blood cells.
• High levels means your liver cannot remove bilirubin fast enough, can cause eyes or skin to turn yellow (jaundice).


• PT/INR: a test that tells how your blood clots.
• High numbers might mean you might bleed easily.

• Doctor passes a small hollow needle through your skin and removes a tiny piece of liver tissue
• Results give a STAGE and GRADE
• Stage: reported as Stage 0-4, tells amount of fibrosis in the liver
• Grade: tells the amount of inflammation in the liver