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The etiology of hypertransaminasemia in Turkish children

Filiz Serdaroğlu1, Tuğba Koca, Selim Dereci

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Suleyman Demirel University Faculty of Medicine, Isparta, Turkey. drserdaroglu@gmail.com.

Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences
|February 20, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Elevated liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in children are frequently caused by infections, drug-induced liver injury (DILI), and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). These findings highlight common pediatric liver conditions and potential causes for abnormal liver function tests.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Hepatology
  • Clinical Biochemistry
  • Internal Medicine

Background:

  • Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are common biochemical findings in children.
  • Causes can range from liver-specific diseases to systemic conditions, necessitating thorough investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the primary causes of elevated ALT and AST in pediatric patients presenting to a hospital.
  • To analyze the correlation between specific etiologies and the degree of transaminase elevation.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of medical records for 281 children (3 months to 18 years) with elevated ALT/AST between 2012-2014.
  • Categorization of diagnoses including infections, drug-induced liver injury (DILI), and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Main Results:

  • Infections, particularly hepatitis A virus (HAV), were the most common cause (34%).
  • Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) accounted for 18.1%, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) for 11.1%.
  • HAV infection showed the highest transaminase levels; DILI and NAFLD presented with milder elevations.

Conclusions:

  • Infections, DILI, and NAFLD are the leading causes of elevated transaminases in children.
  • While often indicative of liver disease, elevated ALT/AST can occur in non-hepatic conditions or even in healthy individuals.

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