What are the causes and hazards of high total bilirubin levels?
After the death of human red blood cells, indirect bilirubin is produced. Indirect bilirubin is converted by the liver into direct bilirubin, which then forms bile and enters the intestine, ultimately being excreted through urine and feces. If there are issues in any of these processes, the bilirubin metabolism pathway will be interrupted, causing an increase in direct or indirect bilirubin, and subsequently leading to an elevated total bilirubin level. Let's explore the causes and hazards of elevated total bilirubin together.
Total bilirubin is the sum of indirect bilirubin and direct bilirubin. An increase in either indirect or direct bilirubin will cause an elevation in total bilirubin. After the death of human red blood cells, indirect bilirubin is produced. This indirect bilirubin is converted by the liver into direct bilirubin, which then forms bile and enters the intestine, ultimately being excreted through urine and feces. If there are issues in any of these processes, the bilirubin metabolism pathway will be interrupted, leading to an increase in direct or indirect bilirubin and subsequently elevated total bilirubin.
If your liver function test is normal, but your total bilirubin and indirect bilirubin levels exceed the upper limit of normal, you should check for any diseases in the bile duct and common bile duct. Usually, biliary diseases can cause an increase in jaundice, and after a clear diagnosis, targeted treatment should be given.
Elevated total bilirubin leads to massive destruction of red blood cells in the human body, reducing their number in the blood. The retention of indirect bilirubin in the blood reduces the liver's conversion ability, worsening jaundice symptoms, reducing transfusion reactions, and leading to pernicious anemia.
Elevated total bilirubin can damage hepatocytes, resulting in decreased liver function, which prevents the conversion of indirect bilirubin to direct bilirubin. This leads to compression of the intrahepatic bile ducts, causing excretion obstacles. Severe cases may be accompanied by acute icteric hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.
Elevated total bilirubin prevents all direct bilirubin in the human body from being excreted into the intestine through the biliary tract, causing it to flow back into the blood, thereby causing obstructive jaundice in the body. This can lead to diseases such as pancreatic head cancer, gallstones, biliary malformations, and cholangiocarcinoma.
Elevated total bilirubin easily leads to obstructive jaundice, preventing the bile containing direct bilirubin from being excreted from the body. This can easily cause patients to develop diseases such as pancreatic head cancer, gallstones, biliary malformations, and cholangiocarcinoma.
Elevated total bilirubin indicates that the patient has hepatocyte jaundice. At this point, the patient's hepatocytes are necrotic, the liver is damaged, and liver function is abnormal. It is unable to completely convert indirect bilirubin into direct bilirubin, causing compression of intrahepatic bile ducts and excretion obstacles. Direct bilirubin cannot be completely excreted into the biliary tract.
The symptoms of elevated total bilirubin mainly include the following two aspects: 1. Skin, urine, and eyes may appear yellow, so elevated total bilirubin is generally also known as jaundice. Elevated total bilirubin can also cause other adverse symptoms because the increase in total bilirubin caused by liver damage can affect other human organs, causing a chain reaction. 2. In newborns, yellow staining of the skin and sclera within 24 hours is called neonatal physiological jaundice. Some infants may also develop yellow skin and sclera within 20 hours of birth, which is called neonatal pathological jaundice. These symptoms usually resolve after treatment.
Although the symptoms of elevated total bilirubin are not unique to hepatitis, they are most common in hepatitis patients. When jaundice appears, consider whether it is due to hepatitis and promptly visit the hospital for examination and diagnosis.
Maintain good rest, engage in appropriate daily exercise, maintain a reasonable lifestyle, and maintain a good mood.
A good diet is also very important. Try to eat more fruits and vegetables, high-protein, low-fat foods, and mainly light foods. Avoid too greasy, spicy, and moldy foods. Eat more liver-protecting foods, such as seafood
