THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERUM ALANINE AMINOTRANSFERASE LEVEL AND LIVER BIOPSY FINDINGS IN CHRONIC HEPATITIS C

Background: Among most of the hepatic diseases, elevation of alanine amino transferase (ALT) level is the hallmark of hepatocyte necrosis. But, no study has been performed in this field in Iran. Materials and Methods: This study is designed to compare the grade, stage, and Histological Activity Index (HAI score) of liver pathology between patients with normal serum ALT and elevated serum ALT. It has been conducted on 32 patients with normal serum ALT and 84 patients with elevated ALT level, at our clinic. Results: The median grade and stage among patients with normal serum ALT level were 4 and 1, and among patients with elevated serum ALT they were 6.5 and 2, respectively. Stages more than 2 were detected in 5 (15.6%) and 36 (42.9%) of normal ALT and elevated ALT groups respectively (p= 0.006). Conclusions: Although liver lesions are milder among most of the patients with normal serum ALT, liver biopsy is considered to be useful in chronic hepatitis C regardless of serum ALT level.