Hello, My Most Recent Liver Test Came Back AST 72

Posted on Fri, 12 Oct 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 12 Oct 2018 Answered on

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Question : Hello, My most recent liver test came back AST 72 and ALT 107, how high is this? How concerned should I be? They did extra blood work, no hepatitis and are ordering an ultrasound. Thank you.

Hello, My recent blood work for liver had an AST level of 72 and a ALT level of 107. Hepatitis was ruled out and they have ordered an ultrasound of the liver. How concerned should I be? I can't find out how high these numbers are on the scale. Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Dr.Arnab (57 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
only ALT (SGPT) is mildly elevated...

Detailed Answer:
Hello there,
Welcome to 'Ask A Doctor' service...
I've gone through your query and understand your concerns...

First of all, please note, in clinical practice, unless the AST and ALT levels get 2-3 fold elevated they're not considered significant. Here, in your case, only the ALT(SGPT) level is mildly elevated.

Good to know that hepatitis is ruled out already.

This can be seen in a few other common conditions i.e.

-Fatty liver (hepatic steatosis, where there is deposition of fat inside the liver cells) secondary to obesity, alcohol or diabetes.

-Medication-induced (few common offenders are the over the counter pain-killers, some antibiotics and cholesterol-lowering medications)

-Few other sources of infection (apart from those of hepatitis), ie. Protozoal and bacterial

Overall, I don't think you should be concerned as it's just borderline elevated and if the other parameters are all ok (bilirubin, LDH, Alkaline phosphatase etc.) then there's nothing to worry. once the potential offender is detected, just eliminate it in the first place, and things should be fine within a while only.

For further evaluation along with the Ultrasound, a few other tests namely: GGT (Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase), ALP (alkaline phosphatase) and LDH (Lactate dehydrogenase), FBS, PPBS should also be done (if already done and results are ok then no need to repeat).

Please discuss this with your doctor and proceed accordingly...
Let me know if I can assist you further.

Take Care
Kind Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Dr.Arnab (13 minutes later)

Thank you so much for the information, I really appreciate it. Can you let me know what is considered the normal range for AST and ALT? At what levels is it considered dangerous? Thank you!

Answered by Dr. Dr.Arnab (9 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
please see the detailed answer below...

Detailed Answer:
Welcome back,

In general, the range for normal AST is somewhere between 10 to 40 units per litre and ALT between 7 to 56 units per litre. This is the standard range. However, it tends to vary slightly in different countries and laboratories as per the reagents, machinery calibrations and some other variables.

As I've already explained unless the AST and ALT levels get 2-3 fold elevated they're not considered significant. In case the AST and ALT levels get more than 10 times normal, they're considered very high levels. However, the level of seriousness is entirely dependant on the clinical presentation of the individual and how the treating physician is perceiving them.

Hope this answers your query, not to worry.

Take Care
Kind Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Dr.Arnab (8 minutes later)

Thank you for your information. Have a good day.

Answered by Dr. Dr.Arnab (17 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
most welcome...

Detailed Answer:
Glad to be of service...

Have a nice day you too...

Most Welcome any time...

Take Care
Kind Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee