Liver, Kidney, Hepatitis C Panel

Anyone age 18+ who wants to learn about their kidney and liver function. More than 100 million people in the U.S. have some form of liver disease and many people don’t realize they have it in the early stages. If left untreated, liver and kidney diseases can lead to liver failure, liver cancer, and kidney failure.

Collect your specimen in the morning and drop it in the mail, on the same day, using the pre-paid envelope we provide in your test kit.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) antibody test, is used to find out if someone has ever been infected with the hepatitis C virus. The HCV antibody test looks for antibodies to the hepatitis C virus in blood.

An AST blood test measures the amount of aspartate transferase in your blood to help assess the health of your liver, but it can provide insight into other health conditions as well. When your cells get damaged, AST can leak into your bloodstream.

The Alanine Transaminase (ALT) test measures the amount of ALT in the blood. When liver cells are damaged, they release ALT into the bloodstream. High levels of ALT in your blood may be a sign of a liver injury or disease.

A Creatinine test is a measure of how well your kidneys are performing their job of filtering waste from your blood.

Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) determines if you have kidney disease, and if so, what stage. eGFR measures your kidneys’ ability to filter toxins or waste from your blood. A very low number may indicate kidney failure, which requires dialysis or a kidney transplant.

The Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) is a measure used to assess kidney function. The Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation is a commonly used method to estimate GFR. However, it has separate equations for estimating GFR in Black and non-Black individuals due to observed differences in muscle mass and creatinine production between these populations.

The main difference between the eGFR (CKD-EPI) Non-Black and eGFR (CKD-EPI) Black equations lies in the coefficients used in the equations. The CKD-EPI equation adjusts for race, with separate coefficients for Black and non-Black individuals. This adjustment is based on research showing that Black individuals tend to have higher levels of creatinine at similar levels of kidney function compared to non-Black individuals, which can lead to an overestimation of kidney function if not accounted for.

Most people have no symptoms. Those who do develop symptoms may have fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, and yellowing of the eyes and skin, pain in the abdomen, gastrointestinal bleeding, bloating, fluid in the abdomen, nausea, fatigue, fever, or loss of appetite, depression or weight loss.

High levels of AST in the blood may be a sign of hepatitis, cirrhosis, mononucleosis, or other liver diseases. High AST levels may also be a sign of heart problems or pancreatitis. If your results are not in the normal range, it doesn’t always mean that you have a medical condition that needs treatment.

Symptoms of a high AST may include:
Nausea and vomiting
Lack of appetite
Fatigue
Weakness
Jaundice, a condition that causes your skin and eyes to turn yellow
Swelling and/or pain in your abdomen (belly)
Swelling in your ankles and legs
Dark-colored urine (pee) and/or light-colored stool

ALT blood testing is done if you have symptoms of liver disease or damage, such as:
Stomach pain or swelling
Nausea
Vomiting
Yellow skin or eyes (a condition called jaundice)
Weakness
Extreme tiredness
Dark-colored urine
Light-colored stool

Symptoms commonly associated with high creatinine can include fatigue, weakness, muscle twitching and cramps, high blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, changes in frequency of urination, loss of appetite, chest pain and fluid retention.

You may need an eGFR test if you have any of the following symptoms:
Urinating more often or less often than usual
Itching
Feeling tired
Swelling in your arms, legs, or feet
Muscle cramps
Nausea and vomiting
Loss of appetite