One of the most important liver enzymes is the aspartate aminotransferase (AST); however, sometimes, its indexes exceed the normal state. Therefore, doctors need to understand possible reasons for it. The first and the most obvious reason for an elevated AST level is liver injury. This ferment provides the transamination reaction, which plays a huge role in metabolism as it secures the synthesis and destruction of several amino acids in the human body. Although AST is present in other organs such as the heart, skeleton muscles, and kidneys, the transaminase activity is mostly examined in the liver and the heart. The AST and ALT ratio is defined by the dc Ritis coefficient, which gets elevated in case of myocardial infarction or hard liver tissue injury that goes along with hepatocytes loss. A high concentration of transaminases can be caused by such illnesses as obstructive jaundice, cholestasis, tumor processes in the liver, viral, protozoal, and toxic hepatitis. However, the abnormalities in the level of AST do not necessarily mean liver problems; the reason for elevation can be related to other organs that affect liver functioning.
Some outer reasons such as alcohol addiction, heat apoplexy, burns, or intensive physical activity can provoke a high AST level. According to Fan (2020), abnormal liver function can be defined as any parameter that is higher than the upper limit of the normal value. A correlation between the new COVID-19 virus and the elevated level of AST was recognized on the second day of the patients’ medical treatment. According to Fan (2020), after the patients’ coronavirus treatment with antivirals, antibiotics, and other rescue measures such as mechanical ventilation elevated levels of AST along with some other enzymes were recognized. However, the COVID-related liver injury may be approximately mild. Therefore, the levels of AST and ALT are slightly lower than predicted.
Reference
Fan, Z., Chen, L., Li, J., Cheng, X., Yang, J., Tian, C., Zhang, Y., Huang, S., Liu, Z., & Cheng, J. (2020). Clinical features of COVID-19-related liver functional abnormality. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 18(7), 1561-1566. Web.