Liver Function Test
A hepatic panel measures liver enzymes, bilirubin and the proteins the liver makes, from one blood sample. It is less a test of how well the liver works than a way of telling whether liver cells are being injured, whether bile is flowing, and whether the liver is still manufacturing what it should.
This explanation has not been reviewed by a person yet.
What it is
The panel groups measurements that answer three different questions about the same organ. The transaminases, ALT and AST, leak out of liver cells when those cells are damaged, so they report injury. Alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin rise when bile is not draining properly, so they report obstruction. Albumin and total protein are made by the liver itself, so they report manufacturing capacity, which is a slower-moving signal. Reading the panel is largely a matter of seeing which of those three patterns dominates, which is why the tests are ordered together rather than one at a time.
Why it is done
- To investigate symptoms that point at the liver, such as yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, abdominal pain or persistent fatigue
- To check whether a medication is affecting the liver, which is the reason many people have this panel repeated on a schedule
- To assess and follow known liver disease, including hepatitis and disease related to alcohol or fatty liver
- To sort out an unexpected abnormality found on a broader chemistry panel
What to expect
A blood draw from a vein in the arm. Fasting is sometimes requested; otherwise there is nothing to do beforehand. Results usually return within a day. Mildly elevated enzymes are common and frequently transient, so a repeat after several weeks is a normal next step rather than a sign of alarm. Where the panel is genuinely abnormal, imaging of the liver and bile ducts, or hepatitis testing, tends to follow.
Questions worth asking
- Was a comprehensive metabolic panel also drawn? It already contains most of these measurements, and both appearing on the same day's bill is worth questioning.
- If individual enzymes were ordered separately rather than as the panel, does that price out higher than the bundled code?
- For monitoring on a medication, how often is the recheck required, and is that frequency covered?
- If imaging is the likely next step, is the ultrasound or scan it points to done at this facility, and at what price?
What Liver Function Test costs by state
- Liver Function Test cost in Texas — 101 hospitals, median $288.00
- Liver Function Test cost in California — 90 hospitals, median $144.42
- Liver Function Test cost in Ohio — 68 hospitals, median $73.80
- Liver Function Test cost in Florida — 66 hospitals, median $383.50
- Liver Function Test cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $167.76
- Liver Function Test cost in Virginia — 43 hospitals, median $155.00
- Liver Function Test cost in Tennessee — 36 hospitals, median $39.60
- Liver Function Test cost in Wisconsin — 35 hospitals, median $140.00
- Liver Function Test cost in Pennsylvania — 33 hospitals, median $79.20
- Liver Function Test cost in Washington — 33 hospitals, median $41.76
- Liver Function Test cost in Iowa — 30 hospitals, median $71.50
- Liver Function Test cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $26.00
- Liver Function Test cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $107.40
- Liver Function Test cost in Arizona — 24 hospitals, median $45.92
- Liver Function Test cost in Georgia — 24 hospitals, median $115.44
- Liver Function Test cost in Kentucky — 23 hospitals, median $103.53
- Liver Function Test cost in New Jersey — 23 hospitals, median $8.99
- Liver Function Test cost in New York — 23 hospitals, median $8.17
- Liver Function Test cost in Missouri — 21 hospitals, median $135.85
- Liver Function Test cost in Minnesota — 18 hospitals, median $114.40
- Liver Function Test cost in Oklahoma — 18 hospitals, median $58.00
- Liver Function Test cost in West Virginia — 18 hospitals, median $38.00
- Liver Function Test cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $198.50
- Liver Function Test cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $133.56
- Liver Function Test cost in Colorado — 12 hospitals, median $280.33
- Liver Function Test cost in Oregon — 12 hospitals, median $34.50
- Liver Function Test cost in Arkansas — 11 hospitals, median $89.05
- Liver Function Test cost in Mississippi — 11 hospitals, median $89.60
- Liver Function Test cost in South Carolina — 11 hospitals, median $155.50
- Liver Function Test cost in Kansas — 10 hospitals, median $176.15
- Liver Function Test cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $159.35
- Liver Function Test cost in South Dakota — 7 hospitals, median $108.00
- Liver Function Test cost in Alaska — 5 hospitals, median $108.42
- Liver Function Test cost in Nevada — 4 hospitals, median $321.85
- Liver Function Test cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $112.80
- Liver Function Test cost in Wyoming — 4 hospitals, median $66.42
- Liver Function Test cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $72.75
- Liver Function Test cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $17.40
- Liver Function Test cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $48.00
- Liver Function Test cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $257.04
- Liver Function Test cost in Louisiana — 1 hospitals, median $21.58
- Liver Function Test cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $260.40
Liver Function Test prices at hospitals
- Liver Function Test at Bellevue Hospital Center, NY 10016 — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Lincoln Medical Center, Bronx — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Metropolitan Hospital Center, New York — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Harlem Hospital Center, New York — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Woodhull Medical Center, Brooklyn — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Ocean University Medical Center, Brick — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Queens Hospital Center, Jamaica — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute (JRI), Edison — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune City — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Southern Ocean Medical Center, Manahawkin — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Elmhurst Hospital Center, NY 11373 — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at South Brooklyn Health, Brooklyn — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at North Central Bronx, Bronx — $8.17
- Liver Function Test at Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank — $8.17
See every published price for Liver Function Test: the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.
Liver Function Test cost — see all prices →Sources
- MedlinePlus: Liver Function Tests (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
- Wikipedia (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)