Amylase Serum Test: Guide for Monitoring Pancreatic Function

Amylase is a type of enzyme or special type of protein, which is formed in the pancreas and salivary glands. Pancreas is an organ behind your stomach. It produces many types of enzymes, which digest food in our intestines. Sometimes this process gets affected due to some reason, due to which either too little or too much amylase is produced. Abnormal amylase production in the body can mean pancreatic disorder in the body. Amylase blood tests can be done to check the amount of amylase in the body to check if there is any disease in your pancreas. If the amount of amylase in the body is too high or too low, there may be a disorder in your pancreas.

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Amylase tests can be done by examining the blood in the body. In some cases, the amount of amylase in the body can also be detected by examining urine. Amylase blood test is done in case the doctor suspects pancreatitis in you. This pancreatitis is caused by inflammation in the pancreas. Amylase level can also be due to other disorders related to pancreatitis. These are:

• Pancreatic pseudocyst
• Pancreatic abscess
• Pancreatic cancer

The symptoms of different diseases may vary. But those symptoms may include:

• Pain in the upper abdomen.
• Loss of appetite
• Fever
• Vomiting and nausea.

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Do not drink alcohol before getting an amylase test done. If you have taken any kind of medicine, then definitely tell your doctor about it. The reason for this is that there are some medicines that affect the test. In such a situation, your doctor may advise you to take a special medicine or change the amount of medicine for a short time. Some medicines can affect the amount of amylase in your body. Some of these drugs are:

• Asparaginase
• Aspirin
• Birth control pills
• Cholinergic drugs
• Ethacrynic acid
• Methyldopa
• Opiates, such as codeine, meperidine, and morphine
• Thiazide diuretics, such as chlorothiazide, indapamide, and metolazone

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The following things should be kept in mind during amylase tests . For an amylase test, a blood sample is taken from your body. This blood is usually taken from the veins of the hand. This process takes very little time. This process is something like this:

• For this, first of all the doctor applies a little antiseptic on the part from where the blood is to be taken out.
• After this, an elastic band is tied on the arm of your hand from where the blood is to be taken out, actually doing this increases the blood flow in the veins. This causes swelling in the vein. Due to which it becomes easy to locate the veins.
• After this, they take out a little blood by pricking a needle in the vein of your hand. They keep this blood in a small bottle. You may feel a little pain when the needle pricks but it does not cause much pain.
• After taking blood for testing, the needle is removed and a bandage is tied on the place where the needle was pricked.
• Then the blood collected in the vial is sent to the lab.

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Taking a blood sample with a needle can be dangerous. It can cause problems like infection, bleeding, wound or dizziness. When the needle is pricked in the hand, you may feel a little pain at that time.

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The amount of amylase in the blood is considered different in different laboratories. In some labs, the amount of amylase in the blood is considered normal from 23 to 85 units per liter (U/L), while in some places it is considered normal from 40 to 140 units per liter. Be sure to tell your doctor about your results and discuss them with him. Note that abnormal results may occur for a variety of reasons. These reasons depend on whether the amount of amylase in your blood is too low or too high.

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The amylase serum test is a biochemical test that evaluates the activity of the amylase enzyme. This test is usually done to measure the level of amylase in the blood, which is produced in the pancreas and salivary glands. The main function of amylase is to break down starch into sugars. High levels of amylase in the serum may indicate pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, gallstones, or inflammation of the salivary glands. On the other hand, low levels may indicate kidney disease or other conditions. This test is used to help diagnose and manage related medical conditions.