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Should I Be Concerned About Raised AST And ALT Levels?

Posted on Mon, 24 Mar 2014

Question: I have had routine blood work show AST 66 and ALT 18. I retested and results came back neg for hep ABC but my levels actually raised to AST 99 ALT 27. I abstained from alcohol the week in between. I am very concerned about how quickly the numbers raised. I am 33. female 155 pounds 5'7. Healthy otherwise. how concerning is this? Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (36 minutes later)

Brief Answer: No reason to concern. Detailed Answer: Hello! Thank you for the query. No reason to be concerned. Please note that in case of serious liver damage, this values are around 1000. Your liver tests are only slightly elevated. You should treat it as a warning that if you keep drinking, your liver wont be well. You should know that it takes from month to 3 months for liver cells to regenerate. So your next liver tests should be for about a month. In a meanwhile you should avoid alcohol, fatty foods, spicy foods, fried foods, painkillers. Usually diet change is enough to restore liver condition. Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions. Regards.

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

Follow up: Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (10 minutes later)

Thank you for your response. I have been so worried because I have read that my because my AST is more than double my ALT it means that I most likely have alcoholic hepatitis. The spike in the week I didn't drink has me confused. Can the still be rising after quiting drinking?

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (16 minutes later)

Brief Answer: . Detailed Answer: Yes, it can rise a little after stop drinking. This enzymes appear due to liver cells degradation (not many at your case). This degradation can be after quitting alcohol, because destroyed by alcohol cells get cleaned by immune system step by step. Such cleaning and regeneration can take a month or longer. So no need to worry. Please repeat liver tests after a month and you will see if its really rising or not (I`m quite sure it will get lower). Regards.

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

Follow up: Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (34 minutes later)

I will do my best to not worry but being a Mommy makes everything more scary! I haf no idea jow mich a couple glasses of wine a night could affect you. If you can will you tell me a little about fatty liver? And how is it different from alcoholic hepatitis...

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (30 minutes later)

Brief Answer: . Detailed Answer: It is always worse for liver to drink regularly than to drink heavily from time to time. Please note that French people (who drink wine everyday) have highest rate of liver cirrhosis. Alcoholic hepatitis is not a disease. It is a group of liver diseases which can be caused by alcohol including fatty liver and liver cirrhosis. So fatty liver can be caused by alcohol intake as well as by bad diet and obesity. Due to liver destruction its metabolism gets changed so instead of functional liver cells, fat appears (and replaces liver cells). Such process usually takes many years. It does not give any symptoms at all as the rest of liver is enough for proper function ( we can live with only 1/3 of healthy liver). Fatty liver is a reversible condition. However if liver destroying factors are not eliminated, fatty liver turns into irreversible liver cirrhosis. Liver cirrhosis is a permanent liver rebuild where scar tissue appears instead of regular liver cells. This condition sooner or later gives liver failure and death (liver transplant is the only cure for such patients). Regards.

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