Alcohol-related liver diseases may also lead to an elevation in these enzyme levels. Mild elevations in these enzyme levels are leading many health care providers to check for infection with hepatitis C , and this disease is being treated much more often in patient who have minimal or no symptoms. Other liver tests such as alkaline phosphatase or GGTP can indicate obstruction of the bile ducts of the liver. Alkaline phosphatase can also be found in other organs of the body, including bone and placenta, but GGTP is pretty specific for liver disease. GGTP can also be elevated in the person who uses alcohol regularly.
Albumin is a protein which is made by the liver and circulates in the blood.
Its level is often checked to determine how well the liver is working to make proteins, one of its major jobs. The combinations of these elevations can be helpful in trying to sort out the cause of liver test elevations. However, since the range of possible causes is so wide, oftentimes more testing needs to be done. CT scanning is often helpful to exclude solid tumors or lesions of the liver as a possible cause. Ultrasound of the liver is particularly helpful to exclude problems in the gallbladder and bile ducts.