Do my blood test values indicate alcoholic fatty liver disease?

Question

Hi doctor,

I stopped drinking five weeks back before doing my blood work. I have some derranged values due to chronic alcohol consumption. Do these deranged values suggest fatty liver disease? I am not willing to drink again.

My blood reports show the following:

AST of 67 U/L.
ALT of 99 U/L.
Alkaline phosphatase of 99 IU/L.
GGT of 393 IU/L.
Cholesterol of 7.7 mmol/L.
Bilirubin of 33 mg/dL.
Creatinine of 106 micromoles/L.
Ferritin of 702 ng/L.

My ferritin level always remains high for a few years, ranging from 400 ng/L to 1100 ng/L. All the other blood results are within range.

Kindly suggest.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Your ferritin, bilirubin, cholesterol, and ALAT (alanine aminotransferase) are high. So you can have a possibility of having fatty liver disease, meaning alcoholic steatosis of the liver. I suggest you do investigations with ultrasonography of the abdomen to check the fatty liver.

For now, you need lifestyle modification. Take fewer fatty foods and fewer refined foods. Drink more lemon water and fruit juices. I suggest you take a walk and do exercise daily for 30 minutes. If your BMI (body mass index) is more than 25, then reduce your weight by making lifestyle changes.

If a fatty liver is shown in sonography, you can take the tablet Udiliv (Ursodeoxycholic acid) daily. Ferritin gets raised due to any inflammation, and so your ferritin levels are elevated due to mild liver inflammation caused by fatty liver.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Answer 2

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Your values are not much elevated. You can control it by taking medications and making lifestyle changes. Try to include more antioxidants in your diet, like oranges and lemon juice. The prognosis will be good if you make lifestyle changes earlier.

Kindly follow up with your ultrasonography report.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.

Answer 3

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern and have gone through your reports (the attachments were removed to protect the patient's identity).

GGT (gamma-glutamyl transferase) is a marker of liver and bile canaliculi damage. So it becomes elevated while having some form of damage in the liver or bile duct. It does not get elevated by dental plaque. You can have mild damage to your liver or bile duct.

Ferritin levels remain raised due to inflammation. Your glomerular filtration rate is low. As your ultrasound remains normal without any history of kidney damage, this can be ignored. I suggest you consult a nearby internal medicine specialist for a physical examination.

You can repeat your ultrasound after ten days. Meanwhile, maintain a healthy lifestyle and allow the inflammation to subside.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.