BROMSULPHALEIN TEST

also called Bsp Test, or Sulfobromophthalein Clearance Test, laboratory method for the assessment of liver function. A measured amount of BSP, a synthetic dye that is normally almost entirely removed from the circulation by the liver and excreted into the bile, is injected intravenously; 3045 minutes later, a sample of blood is drawn from the vein, and the BSP concentration is determined. Normally, 96 percent or more of the injected dye is cleared from the circulation in 3045 minutes. Abnormal retention of BSP in the blood is generally indicative of impaired liver function, although it may also be attributed to such conditions as changes in liver blood flow caused by congestive heart failure or a blood clot in the portal vein or from obstruction to bile flow (cholestasis).