The level of bilirubin in your blood is measured with a bilirubin blood test. When your red blood cells are damaged a yellowish pigment that is produced is called bilirubin. Bilirubin is eventually excreted from your body after it passes through your liver.
Elevated bilirubin levels can indicate several types of bile duct or liver conditions. Sometimes a higher rate of red blood cell destruction can be the cause of higher bilirubin levels.
In this complementary blog post, we will look at the bilirubin blood test at BigManLab. I will describe our experience about this liver function test that can be used alongside other liver function tests LFT to diagnose health conditions.
What is bilirubin?
The breakdown of old red blood cells releases a byproduct called bilirubin. Red blood cells are broken down and travel through the bloodstream to your liver for processing, when they must have completed their life cycle in your body. The liver breaks down bilirubin along with other waste products into a fluid called bile. This fluid called Bile leaves the body through the intestinal route. The characteristic yellow color of bile is gotten from bilirubin pigment. Bilirubin is also responsible for your poop color.
What is a bilirubin blood test?
The level of bilirubin in the blood is measured using a bilirubin blood test. The normal breakdown of old red blood cells in the body produces a yellowish substance called bilirubin. Bile contains a pigment called bilirubin, and is produced by the liver to help digest your food.
Most of the bilirubin from your body will be removed if you have a healthy liver. Bilirubin can leak from the liver if it is damaged, into the blood. A condition that causes the eyes and skin to turn yellow known as jaundice, can occur if too much bilirubin enters your bloodstream. Your doctor know if you have liver disease using a bilirubin blood test, along with signs of jaundice.
Other names: TSB, total serum bilirubin.
Why you need a bilirubin blood test?
A bilirubin blood test may be ordered by your healthcare provider:
- If you are experiencing symptoms such as stomach pain, dark urine or jaundice. These may be symptoms of cirrhosis, hepatitis, or other liver conditions. It can also be a sign that your have gallbladder disease.
- To know if there is a blockage in your bile ducts, a tubes that carry bile fluid from the liver.
- To diagnose an existing liver disorders or disease.
- To diagnose health disorders linked to problems with your red blood cells breakdown. Elevated levels of bilirubin in your blood may be a sign of a health condition known as hemolytic anemia. In this health condition, your body destroys your red blood cells quicker than it produces them.
How to prepare for a bilirubin blood test?
You should not drink or eat for at least four hours before the bilirubin blood test. Your doctor may tell you to stop taking any medications that affect the test results.
Several medications can alter the level of bilirubin pigment in the blood. Ensure that your doctor is aware of what medications you are on.
How does the bilirubin blood test feel like?
Some people feel moderate pain when inserting the needle to draw blood. Others only feel a stinging sensation. You may feel slight throbbing or bruising afterward. But this will disappear soon.
Risk associated with a bilirubin blood test
The risk of taking blood samples is low. The size of blood vessels varies from one side of the body to the other and from person to person. Some people may have more difficulty providing a blood sample than others.
The slight risks associated with having your blood drawn may include:
- Heavy bleeding
- Dizziness or fainting
- Several punctures to find a vein.
- Accumulation of blood under your skin (Hematoma)
- Slight risk of skin break (Infection)
What does your bilirubin blood levels indicate?
Doctors often perform bilirubin blood tests to access the health of the liver. The bilirubin blood test is part of a comprehensive metabolic panel of liver function tests that measure various liver products in the blood. If these levels are elevated or low, it could indicate that your liver is having problems. However, abnormal bilirubin blood levels do not always indicate a liver problem. The problem could be in other places sometimes.
What causes hyperbilirubinemia (high bilirubin levels)?
Bilirubin can build up in the blood if:
- Your body quickly destroys too many red blood cells. You may produce too much bilirubin if you have a blood disorder like: hemolytic anemia, which causes the destruction of red blood cells.
- Your liver has trouble processing its normal amount of bilirubin. The liver may occasionally suffer from toxic bilirubin overload or its functions may be affected by a chronic liver disease.
- Bile is not being cleared efficiently by your biliary system. You may have a blockage in your gallbladder or bile duct that causes bile to build up and enter your bloodstream.
What effect does bilirubin have on your body?
Bilirubin is a waste product of destroyed expired red blood cells. Your body normally expels bilirubin through the intestines. However, this can provide some benefits while leaving. Recent studies have suggested that bilirubin may act as an antioxidant that aid in protecting you against cardiovascular disease. However, if it is excessive, it can be toxic. It can make you sick if it builds up in your blood. It can equally irritate the nerves beneath the skin and cause itching.
Symptoms of elevated bilirubin blood levels
Elevated levels of bilirubin in blood causes jaundice, a yellow tint to the skin and whites of the eyes. Usually, jaundice is the first symptom that prompts your doctor to check your bilirubin blood levels. High blood levels of bilirubin can equally enter your urine, making it darker. Your stool may be lighter in color or clay-colored if bilirubin does not come out with your stool as it should. Very elevated blood levels of bilirubin can cause itching (pruritus).
What happens during a bilirubin blood test?
A lab technician or nurse draws blood through a small needle put into a vein in the arm. The blood is then collected in a test tube.
Blood sampling in newborns is usually done by cutting the skin of the heel with a needle.
Your healthcare provider will send the blood to a laboratory for testing.
Before the blood test, tell your healthcare provider how active you are and what medications and foods you have been taking. Some medications can change your test results.
You will be able to immediately return to your normal activities after the test.
Normal bilirubin test results
Having a certain amount of blood bilirubin is normal. Normal bilirubin blood values are:
- Conjugated (Direct bilirubin): less than 5.1 µmol/L (less than 0.3 mg/dL)
- Total serum bilirubin: 1.71 to 20.5 µmol/l (0.1 to 1.2 mg/dl)
Normal blood bilirubin ranges may vary slightly by laboratory. Some laboratories use different test measurements or may analyze different samples. Talk to your doctor about what your specific test results mean.
What does unusual bilirubin blood test results mean?
Bilirubin levels are highest in newborns during the first days of life. Your child's doctor should consider these factors when deciding if your child's bilirubin blood levels are too elevated:
- The speed at which the level increases.
- If the baby was born prematurely
- Child's age
When more of red blood cells than usual are destroyed, jaundice can equally occur. This may be due to the following things:
- Erythroblastosis fetalis (blood disease).
- Hemolytic anemia (red blood cell disease).
- Transfusion reaction, in which the person's immune system destroys red blood cells given through a transfusion.
These liver problems can equally cause high bilirubin levels or jaundice:
- Cirrhosis (Liver scarring)
- Hepatitis (inflamed and swollen liver)
- Other liver disorder
- Diseases in which the liver does not process bilirubin normally (Gilbert's disease for example)
These bile duct or gallbladder problems can cause elevated bilirubin levels:
- Biliary stricture (abnormal narrowing of the bile ducts)
- Gallstones
- Pancreatic or gallbladder cancer
Message from BigManLab:
Yellowing of the eyes and skin (Visible jaundice) is a sure sign that you should see your doctor for a bilirubin blood test. When bilirubin blood levels are two to three times the normal range, jaundice becomes evident. You may equally see tea-colored or darker urine in this area. However, it is possible to have elevated bilirubin levels without visible signs. A bilirubin blood test can help narrow down the cause and confirm your doctor's suspicions about a particular type of disease.
