Looking for opinions on blood works etc

[any_wonder2]

Thanks for all your replies re: my topic on my husband being called back for an MRI.
We now have more info on his bloods etc. and wondered if we could have your opinions. Ie what are normal levels and where does he deem dangerously high etc and what 'things' mean ie I know that LDL cholestrol is bad one but that is only one I know!. He is having the MRI in 3 weeks regarding lesions found on an ultrasound and we are looking into getting a fibroscan as all we know is that he was stage 1 in year 2000. (The fibroscan has been broken at his hospital for over a year....)
He is GT 1b and was infected probably about 30 years ago and diagnosed 12 years ago.

(I know some of them aren't that relevant but am giving all details just in case!)
Sodium 143 mmol/L
Pottasium 4.3 mmol/L
Urea Serum 6.8 mmol/L
Creatine 81 umol/L
Estimated GFR less than 90 mL/min (What is GFR?)
Bilirubin serum 7 umol/L
ALT 83 IU/L
AST 43 IU/L
ALP 35 IU/L
Albumin serum 46 g/L
Total Cholestrol serum 4.7 mmol/L
HDL cholestrol serum 1.1 mmol/L
LDL cholestrol serum 3.2 mmol/L
Triglycerides 0.9 mmol/L
Total cholestrol HDL ratio 4.3
AFP 4.8 kunits/L (was 5.8 previously)
HCV RNA quantitive IU (is this the viral load?) 743,925 IU/mL

Platelets normal

Think that's it. This board is great and has helped so much already - we feel like we've given his consultant a kick up the bum and ourselves too. He is going to start a treatment as soon as he can and as soon as we find right one through his consultant.

Thanks

[YuK]

Regarding the AST/ALT levels - ALT 83 is higher than normal, AST 43 is slightly elevated.  But, People with chronic hepatitis C have abnormal liver enzyme levels most of the time. The levels can fluctuate between normal and abnormal throughout the course of the disease.

High levels of ALT in the bloodstream usually mean that there may be liver inflammation and/or damage.  High AST levels in the bloodstream may also be an indicator of liver trouble.

A liver biopsy is the gold standard. good luck to you.

[any_wonder2]

Thanks for the reply - not going for biopsy option due to the lesions (mass) on liver. Too much risk of bleed. That's why are wanting to go for a fibroscan.
Any comments on the AFP - I know this is a marker for cancer..... All posts seem very interested in bilirubin levels - are his OK? What do they indicate?
Thanks

[YuK]

I can't comment on the AFP, I will push your post up and hopefully someone else, more knowledgeable, will comment.

[FloridaMouse]

I find the website

labtestsonline.org

to be very helpful in explanations and what is normal.

Mouse

[any_wonder2]

Does anyone have any comments on levels? Its all new to us....

[Bill1954]

You’re probably not getting much commentary on the labs you’ve posted because they are expressed differently than normally used in the U.S. We don’t typically use mmol as unit measure. Perhaps you’ll receive input from others in the U.K.

I can tell you that a viral load of 743,925 IU/mL is on the low side, but not “low” as defined by the 2007 EASL; this would be <400,000. Liver enzymes (ALT) is marginally elevated, but this is consistent with active HCV infection; not to worry. Estimated GFR is a measure of kidney function, also known as EGFR. The AFP is a primary liver cancer marker; his is currently fine; if it begins to exceed 100-200, it might be significant.

As suggested above, you might want to visit Labstestsonline:

http://www.labtestsonline.org/

If you click on the U.K. banner near the top of the page, it should convert data to the appropriate expression for you; and you can use the drop-down menu or their search engine to investigate lab results.

Good luck to both of you,

Bill

[any_wonder2]

Thank you so much. I couldn't make much sense of the labtestonline but will give it another go when the house is quiet! I think I hadn't converted it to UK!

Now have his MRI in 2 weeks and are trying to book him a fibroscan on the same day privately. Am trying not to think to much about it as I will be 3 weeks away from having the baby and I'm in hospital twice a week myself at mo due to the fact we lost out little boy last year...But this website is helping explain things and I am a believer in finding out everyting you can about a problem so it can be faced head on. Fear is heightened by not knowing the face of the monster around the corner....

All the best