Science Letters

Biomedical Sciences | Research article

Serum Alanine Aminotransferase Levels in Hepatitis-C Patients of District Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan

Mohammad Ali Malik 1*, Mohammad Abdul Rehman 1, Mehreen Lateef 2, Shafaq Mahmood 2

1 Sheikh Zayed Medical College/Hospital, Abu Dhabi Road, 64200, Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan

2 Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Bahria University, 13-National Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the frequency of raised serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in males and females with chronic hepatitis-C virus infection (HCV) and to determine factors associated with serum ALT. The sample size of 300 patients comprising 157 male and 143 female subjects was used. The age range of the patients was found to be between 25-45 years. After the recruitment of patients, blood samples were collected and tested for HCV-RNA. The HCV positive samples were further analyzed for their ALT levels using a spectrophotometer. The results showed that 46% (138 out of 300) patients were found with raised ALT levels categorized as the group I, while 54% (n=162) patients had normal ALT levels categorized as the group II. Further division of the group I into males and females on gender basis indicated that 57.3% (n=79) males and 42.8% (n=59) females were found with raised ALT levels, while 48.1% (n=78) males and 51.9% (n=84) females had levels within the normal reference range. There was a significant positive association found between serum ALT level and age factor. It is concluded on the basis of frequency of raised and normal ALT levels in hepatitis C patients of Rahim Yar Khan District that ALT levels are not essentially be increased in all hepatitis C cases even when compared gender-wise. It shows that ALT levels cannot be used as a diagnostic marker specifically in the progression of hepatitis C.