
A doctor may recommend this test if a person: People may have an AST test for screening, diagnosis, or monitoring purposes. If only AST levels are high, this may indicate a problem with another organ or system. If both levels are high, it may indicate a problem with a person’s liver. To rule out issues affecting areas outside the liver, doctors may order a check of the second liver enzyme, ALT, at the same time. If there is damage in any of these areas, AST levels may also increase. When this happens, AST levels in the blood will be higher than normal.ĪST also occurs in the brain, heart, kidneys, and muscles. With liver damage, AST can leak from the liver into the bloodstream. The AST protein mainly occurs in the liver and heart. People with normal liver function can have high AST levels, which may be due to:Ī person should always discuss any medications or health products they take with a doctor.ĭoctors primarily use the AST blood test to check for and assess liver problems, usually alongside other liver tests. Having high levels of AST and no other signs of a problem is not necessarily a cause for concern.

If ALT levels are normal but AST levels are high, it could indicate a health problem outside of the liver, or it may be a sign of alcohol-induced liver damage. ALT levels occur in higher concentrations in the liver. Very high AST levels are usually a sign of progressing liver damage, often due to acute hepatitis.Ī doctor may also test levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), another liver enzyme.


#Uvc medical abbreviation manual
The AMA Manual of Style includes a straightforward rule regarding the use of abbreviations: Define abbreviations at first mention by providing the expanded term first, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses, and the abbreviation is used thereafter.īut for every rule, there are exceptions. Davis 1Ībbreviations are used widely in medical articles, and great care should be taken to provide expansions that define these abbreviations. … The person who uses an abbreviation must take responsibility for making sure that it is properly interpreted.- Neil M. They can be misread, or are interpreted incorrectly. Abbreviations are sometimes not understood.

However, a price can be paid for their use. Abbreviations are a convenience, a time saver, a space saver, and a way of avoiding the possibility of misspelling words.
