Amylase is an enzyme produced by the pancreas and salivary glands, which acts on the digestion of starch and glycogen contained in food.The serum amylase test is usually used to help diagnose pancreatic diseases, such as acute pancreatitis, for example, or other problems.that can impair the functioning of this organ, and are usually controlled at the same time as the dose of lipase.
In addition, your doctor may also order a urine amylase test that helps evaluate kidney function and may be used during treatment of kidney failure to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.
- The results of the amylase test help diagnose health problems of the pancreas and salivary glands.
- Being particularly used to diagnose acute pancreatitis.
- As the values of amylase in the blood increase significantly during the first 12 hours of problems in the pancreas.
Increased levels of amylase in the blood may be modified by an alteration of the salivary gland, by inflammation such as mumps, for example, or by pancreatic problems, such as in the case of acute and chronic pancreatitis.The high amylase content may be due to:
In most cases of pancreatitis, blood levels of amylase are 6 times higher than baseline, but this is not related to the severity of pancreatic injury.Amylase levels usually increase in 2 to 12 hours and return to normal within 4 days., in some cases of pancreatitis, there is no significant increase or increase in amylase concentration, so it is important to measure lipase to check the function and possibility of pancreatic disease.Understand what lipase is and how to understand its outcome.
Decreased amylase levels is more common in hospitalized patients, especially in those with glucose administration, in these cases it is recommended to wait up to 2 hours for amylase to be performed and the result to be reliable.
In addition, the small amount of amylase may be a sign of permanent damage to the cells responsible for amylase production and can therefore be a sign of chronic pancreatitis, and should be confirmed by further laboratory tests.
The baseline value of amylase varies depending on the laboratory and the technique used to perform the test, which can be between 30 and 118 U/L of blood in people under 60 years of age and up to 151 U/L of blood for people over 60 years of age.age 60.