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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Elevated Liver Enzymes?

What can be the causes of elevated AST And ALT, oh, I am old folkie, the SGOT and SGPT in a non-alcoholic 5 4 100 lb female who has ulcerative colitis, has been on APAP, naproxen, ASA concurrently and chronically since the first of the year to control osteoarthritis of the knee because MD s are afraid to prescribe anything stronger during the opioids epidemic in a patient with 3 gastric ulcers and GERD with esophageal erosions requiring dilation due to strictures of the esophagus.
Fri, 7 Sep 2018
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,

I don't know how high they are, but assuming they are mildly elevated (less than 15 times the upper limit of normal), the fatty liver disease would be the most common diagnosis; this is usually diagnosed with ultrasound.

APAP may be contributing, but usually only if you are taking large amounts (more than 4 grams/day). Naproxen can also rarely cause liver damage.

With ulcerative colitis, you may have a higher chance of having a disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis, but this is still rare and the alkaline phosphatase would be much more increased than the other liver enzymes.

Otherwise, you might want to get a check for chronic hepatitis B and C and check iron studies for a disease called hemochromatosis.

As you can see, the causes for elevated liver enzymes are many; these are just a few of the more common causes I would consider in your case. Hopefully, your doctor can check for some of these and help figure out what is going on.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
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What Causes Elevated Liver Enzymes?

Hi, I don t know how high they are, but assuming they are mildly elevated (less than 15 times the upper limit of normal), the fatty liver disease would be the most common diagnosis; this is usually diagnosed with ultrasound. APAP may be contributing, but usually only if you are taking large amounts (more than 4 grams/day). Naproxen can also rarely cause liver damage. With ulcerative colitis, you may have a higher chance of having a disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis, but this is still rare and the alkaline phosphatase would be much more increased than the other liver enzymes. Otherwise, you might want to get a check for chronic hepatitis B and C and check iron studies for a disease called hemochromatosis. As you can see, the causes for elevated liver enzymes are many; these are just a few of the more common causes I would consider in your case. Hopefully, your doctor can check for some of these and help figure out what is going on. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.