Do I suffer from liver damage?
I am 49 year old male, height 5′ 5″ inches tall, and weighing 165 lbs. I have no particular symptoms nor am I feeling bad in any way. I rarely drink and try to eat well. I take no medications. I do undergo regular blood tests just to stay up to date and make sure everything is OK. I have received (and uploaded) my recent lab results and am concerned with certain values, in particular SGOT (AST) and SGPT (ALT). Does it indicate there is damage to the liver? What should I do?
Hi and thanks for your question
There are many possible causes of transaminitis (raised ALT/AST) and identifying it in your case requires more information and tests.
Probable causes:
The most important usual cause of hepatitis (inflammation in the liver cells) are:
1. Viral hepatitis.
2. Drug (medication) induced, including allopathic or herbal medicines or supplements.
3. Fatty liver (NASH or Non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis).
4. Alcoholic hepatitis.
5. Auto-immune hepatitis, etc.
Additional steps to take:
Please consult a hepatologist or medical gastroenterologist for the following tests:
1. Repeat blood tests for LFTs (liver function tests) in a standard laboratory.
2. Ultrasound abdomen.
If the blood tests LFTs are still abnormal, a further blood test to evaluate the cause for this will include:
1. Hepatitis A IgM to check for hepatitis A infection.
2. HBsAg, HBcAg (IgM) for hepatitis B infection.
3. HCV Antibodies to check for hepatitis C infection.
4. Liver autoantibodies (ANA anti-nuclear antibody, ASMA anti-smooth muscle antibody, AMA anti-mitochondrial antibody), etc.
Based on the above results, further evaluation may be required like a liver fibroscan or a liver biopsy.
Regards,
Dr. Javez Ernesto