AST/ALT ratio dropped from last test?

[jebus22]

on my 1st test my ast was 77 and my alt was 79. on my new test though the ast was 47 and alt was 82. I'm confused about the ratio i read being near or over 1 indicates advance liver disease, but what does it mean now that my ratio is lower on the new test?

[Kristian]

Hi Jebus, dont fret about the ratio between AST and ALT. Those tests just indicate whether there is something that is currently impacting on your liver and are not any indication of the severity of underlying liver damage. For example some viral infections can take those readings well into the high hundreds, even thousands. However, when the virus subsides they return to normal as does the liver with no long term damage.

The ratio of AST/ALT itself is used to as a bit of a diagnostic aid and if the AST is higher than the ALT when both are above normal then it points the doctor to consider alchohol as a possible cause of the abnormal readings.

Blood tests that give an indication as to how well the liver is actually working, which is a more reflective indicator of actual liver damage, include Albumin, Sodium, Bilirubin and INR (which is a function of how well your blood clots). A number of the readings from your full blood count, such as heamaglobin and platelets can also commonly be out of range too.

With your ALT still being raised then it'll probably prompt your doctor to arrange some more investigations to try and get to the bottom of the cause.

[jebus22 in reply to Kristian]

thx... even with my high alcohol intake history, the dr said it was NAFLD based on lab/ultrasound and to change diet, lose weight and follow up in 6 months

all other funtions where normal, billirubin was slightly high 1.3mg, when total is 0.1 - 1.1mg

[Hidden]

Good morning jebus22,

No one here is medically qualified to interpret your results. Diagnosing liver disease is not reliant on one single test, and is usually a jigsaw puzzle of lots of pieces ( different tests, investigation, clinical assessment) to give a complete picture.

May I suggest you discuss your results further with the doctor who requested them ? This should provide guidance for you.

I have included a link to our information on liver disease tests .

britishlivertrust.org.uk/in...

Take care,

Trust9