EXPLAINER: Lab results and their interpretation

Thank you! What about these results? These ones are confusing me. I was reading this and that’s where my confusion is coming from.

Any insights/thoughts, on these other results below?

Here’s another link.

Dear @Bigjoetx,

My apologies, I had misread your previous post and thought it had said HBcAb total, when it said HBcAb IgM.

The results you have just posted (in addition to the initial ones) suggest that you have been exposed to Hep B but have now recovered from it. You have very high (and therefore protective) levels of HBsAb, which is great. You have loss of HBsAg, which is really indicative that you have cleared the infection and this is linked with very good health outcomes.

There is a bit of an inconsistency in that you have detectable HBeAg and HBeAb at the same time. I am not sure that this has an impact on your health at all. Can any @HealthExperts provide an opinion?

Cheers,
Thomas

Dear @ecky,

These seem to just be measurements of your liver and gallbladder. They don’t seem to provide much information on their own.

Thomas

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@ThomasTu . This explanation make so much sense because nothing is standing out in my normal routine blood work. So much helpful as they were confusing me so much. Thank you again!

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I agree that these are confusing. I am not a medical doctor, so this is beyond my expertise. I strongly encourage you to have a good discussion with your physician.

I wish you the best.

John.

Dear @ethan,

Thanks for your question. I have never heard of cirrhosis occurring that quickly and it is unlikely to be due to viral hepatitis if you are testing negative for HBsAg and HCV. I am not sure what is causing your symptoms, but it is worthwhile seeing a doctor about them specifically if it continues to bother you.

Hope this helps,
Thomas

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Hello,
I’ve just had my blood test results. All good.
But… I’ve checked the results myself and have noticed above average bicarbonate levels.
This is not the first time I’ve had this result.
Curious if anyone else has had the same result.
What does it mean?
Blessings

Thanks Thomas. I am so grateful to this community & you. I checked with doctor but not helpful answer . So i decided to do HbsAg, anti HCV (4 & 11 months post exposure) Results negative




. LFT at 11 months Results attached . results are normal but I have a bad feeling as my i am getting bruises without any reason . Hiv results also negative . Its like a nightmare . I wanted to know more about Fibroscan . whole abdominal ultrasound can be useful ? Can I connect with someone by WhatsApp ?


Dear Experts, I have got my blood results and would appreciate your thoughts. I marked the date of my first test after starting Tenofovir. I am worried because the liver enzymes are on the rise although they seem to have been in range for some time. Y-Gt seems to be rising as well. Can this be a sign of HCC? Is the liver that damaged and it doesn’t recover?
I have not tested liver enzymes between December 2020 (they were good) and September 2021. Could it develop in those 9 months?

Below is my HBeAg result/ still positive . I want to ask @HealthExperts to please share there thoughts on the result no.(724.851) The no. Looks very very high with the reference threshold. Does this indicates that it will take a very long time for HBeAg to become negative.
I am 29 years old and my hep b is probably 3 years old.

Thanks

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Hi Thomas and others
Yesterday I went for annual check up.
To my supprise, a well defined mass measuring 5.35cm and 4.09cm was found. The sonographer also did indicate that I have a diffussed liver desease. Above that, my AFP is elevated at 32 while normal one is between 0-7.
I am not very scared about the outcome but I guess it’s HCCAny comments?
Kinoti

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Hi there I’m new here from the uk !! I have some questions please @ThomasTu

March 2020 I did a finger prick blood test that was positive for Hep b surface antigen

I then went straight to my dr and he had the following labs performed with the following tests with results

Hep b surface antigen x 2 NEGATIVE
Hep b surface antibody NEGATIVE
Hep b core antibody NEGATIVE

He then told me I didn’t have hep b so I left this as I felt fine

I then had covid in feb this year with right upper pain and lots of other issues and was worried about hep b so I had the following done again

Hep b surface antigen NEGATIVE
hep b core antibody NEGATIVE
Hep b DNA NOT DETECTED

do I am unsure what is causing this pain ! I have had 3 liver function tests with one that had raised ALT once but has since come down to normal levels the last 2 times

Can you shed any light or help at all please

Hi Kinoti,

Your results are consistent with HCC but a liver biopsy should be done to confirm.

Any other symptoms? Also a complete blood work should also be done.

Good luck…

HI Beneallace 1984 , welcome to the forum!

It really looks like you do not have HBV infection but also that you have not been vaccinated. I strongly advise you to get vaccinated for HBV at your earliest opportunity.

Like many other respiratory viral infections, moderate to severe disease from SARS-CoV2 infection can be associated with transient elevations in liver enzymes which self resolve and do not cause liver complications after resolution of infection. My guess is that this is the cause of your liver enzyme elevation.

Best regards,

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Ha @availlant
Thanks for your timely response.
I am well aware of HCC but would wish to hear from you the options available for me.
Well, that’s where I am and the best in life is to accept what one cannot change. The mass has not affected in any place in the liver nor the surrounding organs.
I needed to prepare enough for my exit and more so because of my family, a wife and three young children.
Thanks again.
Kinoti

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Hi Availlant
You wanted to know if I have any symptoms. No, I just gone for routeen monitoring.
My blood work us remained the same for over five years. LFT, only GGT is elevated at 89.
What is interesting is last year my doctor said I had multiple rounded echogenic deposits, which he said was steatosis S1. This time there is non a part from that mass.
My fibroscan reads 6.8 KPa from last year’s 7.0 KPa
Kinoti

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Hi @Caraline, sorry to have missed responding to this question. I think there are several factors that can lead to this (e.g. other drugs you are taking), and that really needs to be seen in context with your medical history. Perhaps some @HealthExperts could comment though.

Cheers,
Thomas

Hi @ethan,

This result would indicate you don’t have hep b. It would be helpful to get an anti-hbs test to see if you’re protected against hep b. If it is negative then you should get a course of vaccination to protect yourself from any future exposure.

Regarding your other issues, this is really outside the expertise of this community and it is best to get another in-person medical opinion, if you don’t feel like you’re getting helpful answers.

Hi @natti,

Raised liver enzymes do not indicate that you have HCC, they mean that there is liver inflammation. This can be a good sign (your body is fighting off the virus), but can become a problem if extended over many months to years. Increased liver enzymes have been reported by others starting on antiviral therapy and in many cases lower back to normal without any symptoms, but it is important to keep having your regular blood tests to keep track.

Dear @12345678,

While you are right that is high, the HBeAg levels can change quite a bit in a short period of time based on the person’s immune response to the virus. I haven’t seen data on whether the level does match up with the speed at which HBeAg becomes negative, though.

Dear @Beneallace1984,

Welcome to the community and thanks for sharing your story. I agree with @availlant and your tests are consistent with you not having Hep B. There are other causes of right upper quadrant pain (see Upper right quadrant pain) that perhaps you should investigate.

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No comments about this from a clinical point of view, as this needs to be confirmed before saying anything really. However, I wanted to say I’m very sorry to hear about your situation, @kinoti, and I am wishing for the best outcome for you in the near future. I really appreciate the level of engagement you’ve had in this community and we can support you through this tough period as you have others.

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Hi. I’m sorry to disturb again but I’d like to discuss my test results. Prior my last visit to the hospital, I was told to carry out some tests which included HBV DNA and HBcAb IGM core antigen and scan which I did.
But before then, when I just found out about status, I did some test the result goes thus:

  1. Hbsag- +ve
  2. Hbsab- -ve
  3. Hbeag- +ve
  4. Hbsab- -ve
  5. Hbcab- +ve
    Also, I did liver function test the results
    TP- 8.9
    ALB - 4.3
    TB - 0.82
    CB- 0.35
    AST- 33
    ALT-34
    ALP-37
    These were the results.
    This was about 2 months ago.

The most recent test I carried out goes thus

  1. HBV DNA [viral DNA] - undetectable
  2. HBsAg- +ve
  3. Antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen- -ve
  4. Hepatitis B envelope antigen - -ve
  5. Antibody to hepatitis B envelope - +ve
  6. Antibody to hepatitis B core antigen - +ve
  7. IGM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen - -ve

Tumor biomarkers
Afp- 3.10

PT test- 12.0secs ( 8.9-10.9 secs)
INR- 1.27

PCV - 40%

FBC test
WBC- 4.8×10⁹/L
N- 37
L- 49
M- 05
E- 08
B- 01
Plt- 225×10⁹/L
MCB- 80FL
MCH- 26pg
MCHC- 33g/DL

Abdominopelvic USS

  1. The liver is normal size [ LS 14.9cm]
  2. Gallbladder and pancreatic bed are Normal
  3. Spleen is at the upper limit of normal span 12.1cm in LS dimension
  4. Both kidney are normal size
  5. No calculus seen RK- 11×4.6CM LK- 12.3×4.9CM
  6. Postrate gland is normal
  7. Urinary bladder is within limits.

I did HCV and HIV tests which came out negative.

These are the results in details. I wouldn’t know how to interpret these, so I do not know what they suggest about my condition.

But I’m worried with the fact that my doctor didn’t prescribe any other drug than hepalab forte which I’ve been on for about a month now.
I don’t know what to do as I’m worried about my medication and I feel I’m not doing enough to control my situation.

I feel pain around the upper right parts of the stomach sometimes when I lean on that part and sometimes at my knee joint while walking. Most doctors I talk to say it’s my minding that is Messing with me, I find if hard believing it’s that.

I wouldn’t know if her method of treatment is the best or I should look for a new doctor to treat me better.

kindly advise and interpret these to me.
I am to revisit the hospital in November, but I’m to carry out another liver function test before then so I can be diagnosed based on that.

Plus, does hepatitis B envelope antigen status change that quickly within a short time, because, comparing the test results in July with that of August, one is positive while the other turns out to be negative. It’s a little unclear too.

Thank you.

Dear @Adedeji_Joseph,

Thanks for sharing your situation. Your most recent blood tests show that you are in the immune control phase, where you body is successfully suppressing the virus infection. This is linked to good health outcomes and lower risk of liver disease progression.

The thinking behind you not being on treatment is that your HBV DNA is already undetectably low. The medications work by lowering HBV DNA, so if there is no way to lower it any more, then it is not worth taking the treatment.

Regarding your pain, it may be driven by something that is unrelated to your Hep B (see the discussions here: Upper right quadrant pain, Titling feet and pain on the righ shoulder blade and I am feeling a sharp pin pain in my stomach. Why am I feel thay).

Regarding the HBeAg status, that can change quite quickly, yes.

Hope this helps,
Thomas