An autoimmune liver disease panel is a group of tests that is done to check for autoimmune liver disease. An autoimmune liver disease means that the body's immune system attacks the liver.
The panel may also include other tests. Often, immune protein levels in the blood are also checked.
A blood sample is taken from a vein.
The blood sample is sent to the lab for testing.
You do not need to take special steps before this test.
You may feel slight pain or a sting when the needle is inserted to draw blood. Afterward, there may be some throbbing.
Autoimmune disorders are a possible cause of liver disease. The most common of these diseases are autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cholangitis (formerly called primary biliary cirrhosis).
This group of tests helps your health care provider diagnose liver disease.
The normal range for protein levels in the blood will change with each laboratory. Please check with your provider for the normal ranges in your particular laboratory.
Negative results on all antibodies are normal.
Blood tests for autoimmune diseases are not wholly accurate. They can have false negative results (you have the disease, but the test is negative) and false positive results (you do not have the disease, but the test is positive).
A weakly positive or low titer positive test for autoimmune disease is often not due to any disease.
A positive test on the panel may be a sign of autoimmune hepatitis or other autoimmune liver disease.
If the test is positive mostly for anti-mitochondrial antibodies, you are likely to have primary biliary cholangitis. If the immune proteins are high and albumin is low, you may have liver cirrhosis or chronic active hepatitis.
Pawlotsky JM. Chronic viral and autoimmune hepatitis. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 25th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2016:chap 149.