Lipase test

A sample of blood will be taken from a vein.

DO NOT eat for 8 hours before the test.

Your health care provider may ask you to stop taking medicines that may affect the test, such as:

• Bethanechol
• Birth control pills
• Cholinergic medications
• Codeine
• Indomethacin
• Meperidine
• Methacholine
• Morphine
• Thiazide diuretics

You may feel slight pain or a sting when the needle is inserted to draw blood. There may be some throbbing at the site after the blood is drawn. Veins and arteries vary in size so it may be harder to take a blood sample from one person than another.

This test is done to check for disease of the pancreas, most often acute pancreatitis.

Lipase appears in the blood when the pancreas is damaged.

In general, normal results are 0 to 160 units per liter (U/L) or 0 to 2.67 microkat/L.

Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different labs. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your test results.

Some laboratories use different measurements or may test different specimens.

Higher-than-normal levels may be due to:

• Blockage of the bowel (bowel obstruction)
• Celiac disease
• Duodenal ulcer
• Cancer of the pancreas
• Infection or swelling of the pancreas

This test may also be done for familial lipoprotein lipase deficiency.

There is very little risk from your blood taken.

Other uncommon risks may include:

• Bleeding from the needle puncture site
• Fainting or feeling light-headed
• Blood collecting under the skin
• Infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)