Amyloid is an enzyme produced by the pancreas and salivary glands, acting on the digestion of starch and glycogen in food. Generally, the serum amylase test is used to help diagnose pancreatic diseases such as acute pancreatitis, for example, other problems that can affect the functioning of this organ, and are usually requested with the drug lipase.
In addition, your doctor may also order a urine amylase test that helps evaluate kidney function and can be used during the treatment of kidney failure to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.
Amylase test results
Amyloid test results help diagnose health problems in the pancreas and salivary glands, being particularly used to diagnose acute pancreatitis, as blood amylase values increase significantly within the first 12 hours after a problem occurs in the field.
The increase in blood levels in the blood can be modified by the involvement of the salivary glands, as a cause of mumps, for example by pancreatic problems, as in the case of acute and chronic pancreatitis. Also, high amyloid can be debated by:
In most cases of pancreatitis, blood amylase levels are 6 times higher than the initial value, but are not directly related to the severity of pancreatic injury.
Amylase levels increase between 2 and 12 hours and return to normal within 4 days, although in some cases pancreatitis there is no significant increase in amylase, so it is important to measure another pancreatic enzyme called lipase, to check the function. and possibility of pancreatic disease. You know more about lipase.
Degradation of amylase levels is more common in hospitalized patients, especially those given glucose, in these cases it is recommended to wait up to 2 hours for the sample to be taken and the result to be reliable.
In addition, amylase can also be a sign of permanent damage to pancreatic cells involved in production, as they are related to cases of chronic pancreatitis and need to be confirmed by more laboratory tests.
The normal sample value varies depending on the laboratory and technique used to perform the test, which can be between 30 and 118 U/L of blood in a person under 60 years of age and up to 151 U/L of blood per person over 60 years of age.