Aspartate aminotransferase

When doing a hepatitis B test, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase are two essential tests. If the results of these two tests are abnormal, it means that the liver has been seriously damaged. In fact, even if you are not a hepatitis B patient, these two examination items will still be included in your routine liver examination in order to understand in detail whether the liver is normal and healthy.

Compared with alanine aminotransferase, abnormal aspartate aminotransferase is more common in clinical practice. Generally, if abnormal aspartate aminotransferase is found during examination, it can also be judged as liver function damage. Many liver diseases may cause abnormal aspartate aminotransferase.

Aspartate aminotransferase, also known as aspartate aminotransferase, is an important type of transaminase. It is an indicator of liver function test in medical clinical practice and is used to determine whether the liver is damaged. Under normal circumstances, the normal reference value of aspartate aminotransferase in a healthy person is 0-40U/L (unit per liter).

Aspartate aminotransferase is mainly present in the mitochondria of liver cells. Only when the liver is severely necrotic or damaged can it cause a significant increase in aspartate aminotransferase. In clinical examinations, the ratio of alanine aminotransferase to aspartate aminotransferase is of great significance in determining the extent of disease progression. The details are as follows:

⒈ The ALT/AST ratio of patients with early cirrhosis and cirrhosis is below 1.0.

⒉ Generally speaking, patients with a short course of disease, mild liver cell damage and a good prognosis usually show a significant increase in alanine aminotransferase, with an alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase ratio greater than 1.5;

⒊ Patients with a long course of disease, high degree of chronicity, severe liver cell damage and poor prognosis usually show a significant increase in aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase less than 1.0.

It can be said that there are many diseases that can cause elevated aspartate aminotransferase levels clinically, such as hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. These are the main factors causing abnormal aspartate aminotransferase levels. Therefore, if you find abnormal aspartate aminotransferase levels during the examination, it is recommended that you do a more detailed liver examination to see what kind of liver disease causes the abnormal aspartate aminotransferase levels.