Liver Blood Tests (cont.)
What are normal levels of AST and ALT?
The normal range of values for AST (SGOT) is from 5 to
40 units per liter of serum (the liquid part of the blood).
The normal range of values for ALT (SGPT) is from 7 to
56 units per liter of serum.
What do elevated AST and ALT mean?
AST (SGOT) and ALT (SGPT) are sensitive indicators of liver damage or injury from different types of disease. But it must be emphasized that higher-than-normal levels of these liver enzymes should not be automatically equated with liver disease. They may mean liver problems or they may not. For example, elevations of these enzymes can occur with muscle damage. The interpretation of elevated AST and ALT levels depends upon the
entire clinical evaluation of a patient, and so it is best done by doctors experienced in evaluating liver disease.
The precise levels of these enzymes do not correlate
well with the extent of liver damage or the prognosis
(outlook). Thus, the exact levels of AST (SGOT) and ALT
(SGPT) cannot be used to determine the degree of liver
disease or predict the future. For example, patients with
acute viral hepatitis A may develop very high AST and ALT
levels (sometimes in the thousands of units/liter range).
But most patients with acute viral hepatitis A recover
fully without residual liver disease. For a contrasting
example, patients with chronic hepatitis C infection
typically have only a little elevation in their AST and ALT
levels. Some of these patients may have quietly developed
chronic liver disease such as chronic hepatitis and
cirrhosis (advanced scarring of the liver).
It is, therefore, worth mentioning that these liver enzymes do not give an indication of the function of the liver. Sometimes they are mistakenly referred to as “liver function tests” or LFTs, but it is a misnomer commonly used.
Next: What liver diseases cause abnormal aminotransferase levels? »
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