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ALP isoenzyme test - Risks

Alternative Names

Alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme test

What the risks are:

Veins and arteries vary in size from one patient to another and from one side of the body to the other. Obtaining a blood sample from some people may be more difficult than from others.

Other risks may include:

Excessive bleeding
Fainting or feeling light-headed
Hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin)
Infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)

Special considerations:

This test is about 80% accurate for identifying the specific locations of cancers or disease. However, it is not a reliable screening test because levels may be high for unknown reasons and return to normal. Unless there are signs of a disease, slightly higher-than-normal values of ALP in the CHEM-20 test are not considered significant.

Blood test

Reviewed last on: 5/7/2009
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Berk PD, Korenblat KM. Approach to the patient with jaundice or abnormal liver test results. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 150.

Drezner MK. Osteomalacia and rickets. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 265.

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