Are universal upper reference limits for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) appropriate for assessing pediatric liver injury?
Section snippets
Opinion
Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) has been the most commonly used and well-established laboratory marker for assessing hepatic injury for > 60 years. Despite not being exquisitely specific to the liver, ALT is routinely used as a first-line screening test for many diseases that result in a loss of hepatocyte integrity. One of the key conditions in this category is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which describes the accumulation of lipids in the liver. NAFLD also encompasses
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Authors' contribution
MLP and ED wrote the manuscript. KA and ÉL revised the manuscript. All authors read and agreed on the submitted version.
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