The normal range for lipase in the blood is age-dependent:
Adults over 60 years old: 26–267 U/L
Adults from 60 to 90 years old: 5–302 U/L
Adults from 20 to 60 years old: 31–186 U/L
Children: 20-136 U/L
Infant up to 1 year old: 9-105 U/L
In the International System of Units (SI), the lipase in the blood is measured in ukat/l. The normal lipase level in the blood in the SI is:
Adults over 60 years old: 0.44–4.54 ukat/L
Adults from 60 to 90 years old: 0.08–5.13 ukat/L
Adults from 20 to 60 years old: 0.53–3.16 ukat/L
Children: 0.34-2.31 ukat/L
Infant up to 1 year old: 0.15-1.78 ukat/L
Each laboratory must establish its own normal ranges for the lipase in the blood. These ranges depend on the makeup of the local population, the technologies used and the accuracy of the measurement. There may be also slight differences in the normal levels according to age, gender, race or ethnic origin, geographic region, diet, type of sample and other relevant status.
Your doctor will study the results along with your medical record, screenings, physical condition, symptoms and any other relevant information about your situation.
Some circumstances may alter the normal ranges:
Lipase is an enzyme that changes fats and triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol.
The lipase present in the blood is mainly produced by the pancreas, but can also be secreted in smaller quantities by the salivary glands as well as by the gastric and intestinal mucosa.
Lipase is filtered by the kidneys and totally reabsorbed by the renal tubules. That is why it is not normally detected in urine.
When there is a problem related to the pancreas the lipase in the blood increases.
Lipase blood test is useful in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the pancreas, such as acute pancreatitis, or in case of obstruction of the biliary tract.
In acute pancreatitis, serum lipase begins to increase in 2–6 hours, peaks at 12–30 hours, and remains high, but slowly decreases for 2–4 days. Lipase rises and falls along with amylase in acute pancreatitis, but is a more specific marker for this condition.
Lipase may also be high in case of obstruction of the pancreatic duct, cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder), kidney failure or diabetic ketoacidosis.
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The following values are considered to be normal values:
IMPORTANT: These levels are expressed in U/L. They are an example of a healthy man of about 45 years old with no known disease and not taking any medication. The ranges can be different depending on the laboratory or on your personal circumstances.
Lipase | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normality | |||||||
| 31 U/l | 32 U/l | 33 U/l | 34 U/l | 35 U/l | 36 U/l | 37 U/l | 38 U/l |
| 39 U/l | 40 U/l | 41 U/l | 42 U/l | 43 U/l | 44 U/l | 45 U/l | 46 U/l |
| 47 U/l | 48 U/l | 49 U/l | 50 U/l | 51 U/l | 52 U/l | 53 U/l | 54 U/l |
| 55 U/l | 56 U/l | 57 U/l | 58 U/l | 59 U/l | 60 U/l | 61 U/l | 62 U/l |
| 63 U/l | 64 U/l | 65 U/l | 66 U/l | 67 U/l | 68 U/l | 69 U/l | 70 U/l |
| 71 U/l | 72 U/l | 73 U/l | 74 U/l | 75 U/l | 76 U/l | 77 U/l | 78 U/l |
| 79 U/l | 80 U/l | 81 U/l | 82 U/l | 83 U/l | 84 U/l | 85 U/l | 86 U/l |
| 87 U/l | 88 U/l | 89 U/l | 90 U/l | 91 U/l | 92 U/l | 93 U/l | 94 U/l |
| 95 U/l | 96 U/l | 97 U/l | 98 U/l | 99 U/l | 100 U/l | 101 U/l | 102 U/l |
| 103 U/l | 104 U/l | 105 U/l | 106 U/l | 107 U/l | 108 U/l | 109 U/l | 110 U/l |
| 111 U/l | 112 U/l | 113 U/l | 114 U/l | 115 U/l | 116 U/l | 117 U/l | 118 U/l |
| 119 U/l | 120 U/l | 121 U/l | 122 U/l | 123 U/l | 124 U/l | 125 U/l | 126 U/l |
| 127 U/l | 128 U/l | 129 U/l | 130 U/l | 131 U/l | 132 U/l | 133 U/l | 134 U/l |
| 135 U/l | 136 U/l | 137 U/l | 138 U/l | 139 U/l | 140 U/l | 141 U/l | 142 U/l |
| 143 U/l | 144 U/l | 145 U/l | 146 U/l | 147 U/l | 148 U/l | 149 U/l | 150 U/l |
| 151 U/l | 152 U/l | 153 U/l | 154 U/l | 155 U/l | 156 U/l | 157 U/l | 158 U/l |
| 159 U/l | 160 U/l | 161 U/l | 162 U/l | 163 U/l | 164 U/l | 165 U/l | 166 U/l |
| 167 U/l | 168 U/l | 169 U/l | 170 U/l | 171 U/l | 172 U/l | 173 U/l | 174 U/l |
| 175 U/l | 176 U/l | 177 U/l | 178 U/l | 179 U/l | 180 U/l | 181 U/l | 182 U/l |
| 183 U/l | 184 U/l | 185 U/l | 186 U/l | ||||
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