What is a glucagon test?

Glukagon test is a laboratory test for measuring the amount of glucagon, the hormone produced by the pancreatic pancreatic in the patient's blood. The doctor may order this test if the pancreatic or pituitary disorder is suspected to learn more about the patient's hormones. Patients may have to be fasting before the test and the doctor will provide more information on how to prepare for a glucagon test in cases where necessary. The test results may take several hours to days, depending on where the test is performed. When blood sugar decreases, the pancreas produces more this hormone and triggers the liver to release the stored glucose into the bloodstream to stabilize the blood sugar levels. Patient with low blood sugar, warning signs of diabetes or unusual weight loss can be a candidate for a glucagon test. The doctor can also order this if he suspects that the patient's pituitary is not working properly, because it will have a pancreatic impact.

In the test, a nurse or technician has a blood sample for analysis in the laboratory. With the glucagon test, the patient cannot eat or drink just before the test to obtain a hormone level sample when blood sugar is low and the hormone should be high. Nurses can perform a number of tests after they have offered the patient food to see how the levels change in response to eating sugars. This test may be unpleasant because low blood sugar levels can cause patients to feel irritated, restless or tired.

normal glucagon results will show approximately 50 to 100 picographers per milliliter of this hormone. It is important to note that different laboratories use their own references and the results may vary between laboratory. If the test is repeated, it is advisable to perform it in the same laboratory device. Otherwise, the differences between the results may be credited with different refrigerations and laboratsarable technique, instead of a real change of patient condition.

At the same time, the doctor requires a glucagon test, and may also ask the patient to consider further testing of hormones such as insulin, depending on the reason for the test. This will require drawing other blood samples. As always, when a laboratory test is ordered, if the patient is not sure why the test was required, he may request clarification and discuss the goal of testing, possible results and what the next step in treatment may be depending on the nature of the results.