Which lab tests distinguish acute from chronic liver damage?
Acute liver damage is characterized by marked increases in liver enzymes such as ALT. In patients with acute liver damage, ALT is likely to be as high as 50 times the upper limit of normal; whereas in chronic liver damage, ALT levels remain steady between 5-25 times the upper limit of normal. The gold standard for diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver is biopsy. However, biopsies have a high rate of complication due to internal bleeding and screening for alpha-feta protein is usually used as a first-round test.
