Blood results from Tuesday

Hannah's blood results have come back and they are pretty stable....some in the right direction and some in the wrong direction, but overall pretty good :)

I phoned up for them so didn't get the full panel, they should come with the letter. Here are the ones I have, with commentary.

Albumin 45 (previous result 40) Albumin is a protein made in the liver, and if it isn't working well enough the albumin will be low. This is actually Hannah's highest EVER albumin, so great news!

Alk Phos 677 (previous result 1057) This can measure bile duct damage or bone damage, but can be elevated in children when their bones are growing. I'm very relieved it has dropped down so much! It's back within BCH's normal range for Hannah's age group (250-850), although still higher than Hannah's usual, so hopefully it has all been down to her growing so much recently and will continue to drop.

ALT 68 (previous result 36) ALT measures liver cell damage. Not so happy with this one, because as you can see it has jumped up since the last test to above normal range (less than 45). It is also the highest Hannah's ALT has been for over 2 years. However, it is still a good value for someone with chronic liver disease. Hoping it was a one off jump and not the start of an upwards trend.

AST 67 (previous result 56) AST also measures liver cell damage but as it is found in other parts of the body it is less specific to the liver than ALT. Again not overjoyed with the upward trend and above normal value, but like the ALT it is really not THAT high.

Bilirubin 7 (previous result 5) Low bili means no jaundice! This has hovered between 5 and 8 from a couple of months post Kasai. Normal is less than 20, so this is my favourite result. Pre Kasai my little yellow baby had a bilirubin of over 200!

Gamma GT 51 (previous result 57) Gamma GT is very specific to bile duct obstruction. Hannah's GGT is very good for someone with a bile duct disorder. The similar results mean I can use one of my favourite words - stable.

PT 11 seconds (previous result 11 seconds) This is the most important indicator of Hannah's ability to clot blood, and it is completely normal. This reaffirms that Hannah's liver is doing a very good job!

APTT 39 seconds (previous result 35 seconds) This is another blood clotting indicator. The last value of 35 was at the upper limit of normal, and the fact it is now prolonged means that her liver probably is not producing quite enough of certain clotting factors. On it's own though, it is not a concern, as long as the PT stays normal.