Lipase in Dehradun

What is a Lipase?

Lipase is the enzyme that breaks dietary fat into fatty acids so the gut can absorb it, and it comes almost exclusively from the pancreas. That near-exclusivity is what makes it the better of the two pancreatic enzymes. Where amylase is also produced in quantity by the salivary glands and can be lifted by mumps, a perforated ulcer or reduced kidney clearance, a markedly raised lipase points at the pancreas with far less ambiguity. Its timing helps too. Lipase begins rising within four to eight hours of an attack of acute pancreatitis, peaks at around a day, and stays elevated for up to a week or more, whereas amylase often falls back to normal within three to five days. A patient who presents on day four with pain that started at the weekend may therefore have a normal amylase and a clearly abnormal lipase. For both reasons most guidelines now treat lipase as the preferred test, with amylase run alongside it rather than instead of it.

Why take this test?

A lipase test is advised for severe pain in the upper abdomen, characteristically boring through to the back and sometimes eased by leaning forward, particularly with persistent nausea, vomiting, fever or a tender, distended abdomen. That combination raises the possibility of acute pancreatitis, a condition that needs hospital assessment rather than home management. It is also used where pancreatitis is suspected but the patient presented late, to investigate ongoing unexplained upper-abdominal pain, and to assess chronic pancreatitis, though in long-standing disease enough of the gland may be destroyed that enzymes read normal. In India gallstones and alcohol account for most attacks, so your doctor will usually combine the enzyme result with an abdominal ultrasound, liver function tests and often a triglyceride level, since very high triglycerides are themselves a recognised trigger.

• Severe upper-abdominal pain radiating through to the back
• Persistent vomiting with abdominal tenderness or fever
• Suspected acute pancreatitis, including a late presentation
• Known gallstones or heavy alcohol intake with new abdominal pain
• Very high triglycerides with abdominal symptoms
• Assessing or monitoring chronic pancreatitis

Normal reference ranges

Ranges are indicative for adults. Your report carries the lab-specific reference range and is reviewed by a LabONE pathologist; always interpret results with your doctor.

FAQs: Lipase in Dehradun