Correlations between transaminase concentrations and serum salicylate concentration in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

Simultaneous measurements of serum salicylate, SGPT, and SGOT concentrations were made on 92 children receiving salicylates for arthritis during a 13-month period. Statistical correlations were found between salicylate and transaminase concentrations in patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis when in active stages. However elevated transaminase levels occurred with low salicylate levels and during inactive stages, and were inconstant in individual patients. Marked transaminase abnormalities were transient and appeared unpredictably in individual patients. Some factor in addition to salicylate concentration must be involved in raising serum transaminase levels. No evidence of chronic hepatotoxicity was noted.