Bilirubin Test

Bilirubin test are tests that are used to determine if there is some kind of problem with the liver. This is because the liver is the main center of metabolizing free bilirubin in the blood. Usually, any kind of liver inflammation will cause elevated levels of bilirubin. The condition in which one has excess bilirubin in the blood is called jaundice. This can be seen in other types of more visible symptoms like yellow eyes and sometimes even yellow skin. The most common suspects when it comes to jaundice are alcoholism, hepatitis, and excessive hemolysis.

Bilirubin is a kind of breakdown waste product in the body, the result of the death of red blood cells. Red blood cells have a lifespan of 120 days. When the time for death arrives, the red blood cells are taken up by the phagocytes and then broken down in the spleen. Here, hemoglobin is broken down and one of the waste products is biliverdin. This is then converted in the liver to bilirubin. Eventually, all the bilirubin is absorbed in the liver and converted to bile. The bile then collects and concentrates in the gall bladder. Here it forms part of the digestive juices, used in the metabolism of fat and of neutralizing acids in the stomach. The bilirubin is then broken down by bacteria in the intestines into urobilinogen and stercobilinogen. Stercobilinogen is converted to stercobilin and excreted in the feces. Urobilinogen is converted to urobilin, absorbed back into the blood stream and excreted in urine. This is the end of the cycle. When the levels of free bilirubin in the boy exceed 1.3 mg/dL this usually means that either the liver is overwhelmed by too much bilirubin or that the liver is not processing correctly.

Babies can also get jaundice and this usually happens in some immature babies. This can be serious in babies because the blood brain barrier is not sufficiently developed to prevent the entry of bilirubin. If bilirubin enters the brain, it can form deposits that will cause severe brain damage. Preventing this is through an interesting therapy of using blue light. When placed under blue light, the bilirubin that accumulates under a baby’s skin will convert to an isoform. This isoform is excreted naturally. High bilirubin counts and anemia are usually an indication of hemolytic diseases or even bone marrow problems like leukemia. Alcohol induced jaundice is usually an indication of serious liver damage.