Primarily to diagnose and monitor acute pancreatitis; also sometimes to diagnose and monitor chronic pancreatitis or other pancreatic diseases
Lipase
Lipase
Also Known As
LPS
This article was last reviewed
on
This article waslast modified
on January 29, 2019.
At a Glance
Why Get Tested?
When To Get Tested?
When you have symptoms of a pancreatic disorder, such as severe abdominal pain, fever, loss of appetite, or nausea
Sample Required?
A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm
Test Preparation Needed?
Your healthcare practitioner might instruct you to stop eating or drinking everything but water for 8 to 12 hours before the test. Alert your healthcare practitioner to all medicines, vitamins, supplements, and herbs that you are taking.
Accordion Title
Common Questions
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How is the test used?
The blood test for lipase is most often used to help diagnose and monitor acute pancreatitis. It may also be used to diagnose and monitor chronic pancreatitis and other disorders that involve the pancreas.
The lipase test may be used along with a blood amylase test to detect pancreatic diseases. While the amylase test is sensitive for pancreatic diseases, it is not specific. That means an elevated amylase level may indicate a problem, but the cause may not be related to the pancreas. The lipase test, on the other hand, is more specific than amylase for diseases of the pancreas, particularly for acute pancreatitis and for acute alcoholic pancreatitis. An elevated lipase usually indicates a problem with the pancreas. Evaluating the results of the two tests together helps to diagnose or rule out pancreatitis and other conditions.
Lipase testing is also occasionally used in the diagnosis and follow-up of cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, and Crohn disease.
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When is it ordered?
A lipase test may be ordered when a person has symptoms of acute pancreatitis or another pancreatic disorder, such as:
- Severe upper abdominal or back pain that radiates to the back or feels worse after eating
- Fever
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea, vomiting
- Yellowing of the eyes or skin (jaundice)
- Rapid pulse
- Loose, fatty, foul-smelling stools (steatorrhea)
It may also be ordered at intervals when a healthcare practitioner wants to monitor someone with a pancreatic condition to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment and to determine whether the lipase levels are increasing or decreasing over time.
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What does the test result mean?
A high lipase level in the blood may indicate the presence of a condition affecting the pancreas.
In acute pancreatitis, lipase levels are frequently very high, often 3 to 10 times higher than the highest reference value (often called the upper limit of normal). Lipase concentrations typically rise within 3 to 6 hours of an acute pancreatic attack, peak at 24 hours, and remain elevated for up to 8 to 14 days. Lipase levels cannot be used to determine the severity of an acute pancreatic attack.
Lipase levels may also be increased with pancreatic duct obstruction, pancreatic cancer, and other pancreatic diseases, as well as with gallbladder inflammation or kidney disease.
A low level of lipase in the blood may indicate permanent damage to the lipase-producing cells in the pancreas. This can occur in chronic diseases that affect the pancreas, such as cystic fibrosis.
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Is there anything else I should know?
The pancreas is the primary source of lipase, but cells in other areas of the body involved with digestion and nutrient absorption also produce lipase, including those in the tongue, stomach and liver.
Drugs that may increase lipase levels include pain medications like codeine, indomethacin, and morphine, birth control pills, thiazide diuretics, and cholinergic drugs, among others.
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What are the long-term consequences of pancreatitis?
With acute pancreatitis, there is usually no long-term damage and often no further problems develop. Chronic pancreatitis, which may present as a series of acute attacks, can cause permanent damage. As the pancreas becomes scarred, some people develop diabetes and/or the inability to digest foods, especially fats, leading to malnutrition. The lack of normal pancreatic enzymes may lead to adverse effects on food digestion and waste production, causing malabsorption, abdominal pain, greasy stools, and the formation of stones in the pancreas. Complications also include pancreatic cancer as well as osteoporosis. Even if the disease is controlled, the damage is often irreversible. If the disease progresses, it could lead to death.
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Do elevated lipase levels always mean I have a pancreatic condition?
In some cases, an elevated lipase level may be due to a condition other than pancreatitis. In pancreatitis, the lipase level rises quickly and drops in 8 to 14 days. In other conditions, the rise is usually not as great and the level may be maintained for a longer period. Moderately increased lipase values can occur in other conditions, such as kidney disease, and may also be due to decreased clearance from the blood, salivary gland inflammation, gallbladder inflammation, celiac disease, a bowel obstruction, or peptic ulcer disease. The lipase test is not, however, usually used to monitor these conditions. Your healthcare practitioner will determine whether you have a pancreatic disorder and will make a diagnosis based on your symptoms, medical history, and test results.
Related Images
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Location of the pancreas. Image credit: Don Bliss, National Cancer Institute
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Structures of the pancreas. Image credit: Don Bliss, National Cancer Institute