Lipase

A lipase test is a blood test that measures the amount of lipase enzyme in your blood. Lipase is an enzyme produced mainly by the pancreas, and it plays a key role in breaking down fats in the digestive system.

 

A lipase test may be used to:

• Help diagnose diseases of the pancreas, especially acute (sudden) pancreatitis
• Check to see if treatment for pancreatic diseases is working
• Help diagnose and monitor chronic diseases that affect the pancreas, including:
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Crohn disease
  • Celiac disease

 

 

Your doctor will order this test for you when he believes that you may be suffering from acute pancreatitis or a pancreatic condition. Symptoms include

1. Discomfort post a meal
2. Severe radiating pain in the back
3. Sever upper abdominal pain
4. Jaundice
5. Steatorrhea (foul-smelling stool that is loose and fatty)
6. Vomiting and nausea

The test is also used to monitor patients who are on treatment for pancreatitis. A decreasing level suggests that the treatment is working.

In pancreatic conditions, the lipase levels rises rapidly and falls in about ten days to two weeks. In conditions that are not related to pancreas, the lipase levels don’t raise starkly and stay moderately increased for a longer time. These conditions include kidney disease, peptic ulcer disease, bowel obstruction, celiac disease, galls stones or inflammation of the gall bladder.

It's normal to have a small amount of lipase in your blood. But if the cells of your pancreas are damaged, they will release larger amounts of lipase. So high levels of lipase in your blood may mean you have pancreatitis, (an inflamed, swollen pancreas) or another type of pancreatic disease. A lipase tests can help diagnose these conditions and others.

 

Other names: serum lipase, lipase, LPS