What Does My Blood Test Report Indicate?

Posted on Sat, 10 Oct 2015

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

Sat, 10 Oct 2015 Answered on

Mon, 2 Nov 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi, I am a 34 yr old female. My recent blood work showed an AST of 50 and an ALT of 31. All other labs (bilirubin, albumin, globulin, b12, iron) are within normal limits. My last blood work 2 yrs prior showed an AST 27 of and ALT of 19. I am 5'3, 115 lbs, active, and eat a vegetarian diet. I do enjoy 1-2 glasses of wine each night with dinner however. Is this rise in my AST level cause for concern? My doctor is going to retest my labs in 4-6 weeks, however should I be worried about alcoholic liver disease or alcoholic hepatitis?

Answered by Dr. Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
I would wait for the recheck and not be concerned at this point.

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,

You liver enzymes are not in a worrisome range. It is possible that the wine is elevating it slightly. Some medications, such as Tylenol can also increase liver enzymes. Your enzymes are not in a range that I would be concerned about alcoholic liver disorders. And blood tests can vary from one reading to the next. I can understand your concern, since they were lower 2 years ago.

I would concur with your doctor to retest in 4 - 6 weeks. If the AST is still mildly elevated, then I would look at any medications you might take such as if you take Tylenol, and also decrease the wine to 0 - 1 glass/night and see if that takes care of it. But again, there isn't anything concerning here at this time.

I hope this information helps.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar