Low serum albumin and advanced age predict early mortality in Asian patients with extreme elevations of serum aminotransferase.

OBJECTIVE

Extreme elevations of serum aminotransferases (EESAT), defined as alanine transaminase (ALT) or aspartate transaminase (AST) level of above 3000 U/L, reflect severe liver injury and poor outcomes of the patients. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, etiology and clinical outcomes of EESAT in Asian patients and to identify the predictors of early mortality.

METHODS

Medical records of patients with EESAT over a 1-year period were retrospectively analyzed for disease prevalence, etiology and clinical outcome. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality (defined as death occurring within 28 days of the onset of EESAT). A logistic regression was performed to identify independent predictors of mortality.

RESULTS

A total of 101 patients with a mean age of 57.4 ± 18.0 years met the criteria for EESAT, resulted in a prevalence of 1.4 per 1000 admissions. Altogether 63.4% of the patients were men. The etiologies of EESAT were hypoxic hepatitis (74.2%), viral hepatitis (20.8%), rhabdomyolysis (3.0%), drug-induced hepatitis (1.0%) and choledocholithiasis (1%). The 28-day mortality of EESAT was 53.5%. EESAT due to hypoxic hepatitis was associated with high mortality (70.7%) whereas the mortality risk was low in EESAT from viral hepatitis (9.5%). Serum albumin <28 g/L (HR 5.78, 95% CI 1.41-23.62) and age >55 years (HR 4.81, 95% CI 1.29-17.90) were independent predictors of mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

The main etiology of EESAT is hypoxic hepatitis, which carries a high mortality. EESAT due to viral hepatitis is common in Asians and has a good outcome. Low serum albumin and elder age are independent predictors of early mortality in EESAT patients.