SGOT / AST in Dehradun

What is a SGOT / AST?

SGOT, also written AST, is an enzyme that helps cells process amino acids. Unlike SGPT, which sits almost entirely in the liver, SGOT is distributed across the liver, heart, skeletal muscle, kidney and red blood cells. That wider distribution is the single most important thing to understand about it: a raised SGOT is not automatically a liver problem. Heavy exercise, a muscle injury, an intramuscular injection, a heart event, or even a difficult blood draw that damages red cells can all lift it. Its diagnostic power comes from being read against SGPT rather than alone. In most liver disease SGPT rises higher than SGOT. When the ratio inverts and SGOT runs roughly twice SGPT or more, that pattern classically suggests alcohol-related liver disease, and in someone with known fatty liver a rising ratio can indicate progression towards scarring. This is why a liver function test reports both enzymes side by side rather than picking one.

Why take this test?

An SGOT test is advised as part of assessing any suspected liver problem: fatty liver seen on ultrasound, regular alcohol intake, viral hepatitis, yellowing of the eyes or skin, dark urine, or pain under the right ribs. It is standard monitoring for medicines that stress the liver, including anti-tuberculosis drugs and statins. Because SGOT is not liver-specific, doctors also use it when muscle is the suspected source, for instance after unaccustomed heavy exertion, in a suspected muscle disorder, or alongside cardiac markers. It is almost never ordered by itself; it belongs inside a liver function test with SGPT, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, total protein and albumin, where the pattern across all of them, rather than any single enzyme, is what tells your doctor what is happening.

• Fatty liver reported on an ultrasound scan
• Regular alcohol intake, or monitoring a reduction
• Yellow eyes or skin, dark urine, or pain under the right ribs
• Monitoring anti-TB drugs, statins or other liver-affecting medicines
• Suspected muscle injury or a disorder affecting muscle
• Any abnormal result on a previous liver function test

Normal reference ranges

Ranges are indicative for adults. Your report carries the lab-specific reference range and is reviewed by a LabONE pathologist; always interpret results with your doctor.

FAQs: SGOT / AST in Dehradun