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In medicine, the presence of elevated transaminases, commonly the transaminases alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST), may be an indicator of liver dysfunction. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Other terms include transaminasemia , [ 3 ] and elevated liver enzymes (though they are not the only enzymes in the liver).
Liver function tests (LFTs or LFs), also referred to as a hepatic panel, are groups of blood tests that provide information about the state of a patient's liver. [1] These tests include prothrombin time (PT/INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), albumin , bilirubin (direct and indirect), and others.
[70] [71] Generally, AST and ALT are elevated in most cases of hepatitis regardless of whether the person shows any symptoms. [32] The degree of elevation (i.e. levels in the hundreds vs. in the thousands), the predominance for AST vs. ALT elevation, and the ratio between AST and ALT are informative of the diagnosis.
The diagnosis is made in a patient with history of significant alcohol intake who develops worsening liver function tests, including elevated bilirubin (typically greater than 3.0) and aminotransferases, and onset of jaundice within the last 8 weeks. [3] The ratio of aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase is usually 2 or more. [13]
The proportion of AST to ALT in hepatocytes is about 2.5:1, but because AST is removed from serum by the liver sinusoidal cells twice as quickly (serum half-life t 1/2 = 18 hr) compared to ALT (t 1/2 = 36 hr), so the resulting serum levels of AST and ALT are about equal in healthy individuals, resulting in a normal AST/ALT ratio around 1.
Autoimmune hepatitis, formerly known as lupoid hepatitis, plasma cell hepatitis, or autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, is a chronic, autoimmune disease of the liver that occurs when the body's immune system attacks liver cells, causing the liver to be inflamed.
Acute liver failure is the appearance of severe complications rapidly after the first signs (such as jaundice) of liver disease, and indicates that the liver has sustained severe damage (loss of function of 80–90% of liver cells).
Gastroenteritis is the main reason for 3.7 million visits to physicians a year in the United States [1] and 3 million visits in France. [81] In the United States gastroenteritis as a whole is believed to result in costs of US$23 billion per year, [82] with rotavirus alone resulting in estimated costs of US$1 billion a year. [1]