Laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures in evaluation of liver disease

Evaluation of liver disease can be a difficult and imposing problem for general internists and noninternists alike. Physicians are often faced with a confusing array of what are commonly referred to as "liver function tests"; indeed, with the advent of and commonplace use of automated serum testing batteries, these findings are increasingly frequent in asymptomatic persons. Abnormalities in liver function are occasionally discovered incidentally when the testing battery is performed without suggestion of liver disease. There are numerous examples of algorithms and flow diagrams designed with an aim toward aiding clinicians in completion of an adequate diagnostic evaluation when faced with a particular set of abnormalities on "liver function tests." However, a clearer understanding of these tests and others, which are in a broader sense tests of liver function, might be of greater value than such a systematic and regimented approach to the evaluation of liver disease.