Drawing Conclusions about Short-Term Variability in Liver Function Test Results
Authors: Gaurav Arora, George Triadafilopoulos
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2008)

Letters15 July 2008Drawing Conclusions about Short-Term Variability in Liver Function Test ResultsGaurav Arora, MD and George Triadafilopoulos, MDGaurav Arora, MDFrom Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304.Search for more papers by this author and George Triadafilopoulos, MDFrom Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-149-2-200807150-00014 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:We read with great interest the recent study by Lazo and colleagues (1) on the short-term variability of various biochemical liver tests and want to share some concerns. First, this study is based on a nonrandom, convenience sample that represents only 9.5% (1864 out of 19618) of the original NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) study population, raising questions about the generalizability of the findings, given the strong likelihood for selection bias. Second, the very small percentage of persons from racial or ethnic groups other than white, black, and Hispanic restricts the applicability of the results, ...References1. Lazo M, Selvin E, Clark JM. Brief communication: clinical implications of short-term variability in liver function test results. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148:348-52. [PMID: 18316753] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Prati D, Taioli E, Zanella A, Della Torre E, Butelli S, Del Vecchio E, et al. Updated definitions of healthy ranges for serum alanine aminotransferase levels. Ann Intern Med. 2002;137:1-10. [PMID: 12093239] LinkGoogle Scholar3. Kim HC, Nam CM, Jee SH, Han KH, Oh DK, Suh I. Normal serum aminotransferase concentration and risk of mortality from liver diseases: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2004;328:983. [PMID: 15028636] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Know your ALT [press release]. 30 October 2006. Accessed at https://www.aasld.org/eweb/docs/meetings/06annualmeeting/pressadvisoryalt.pdf on 6 May 2008. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Gaurav Arora, MD; George Triadafilopoulos, MDAffiliations: From Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoUpdated Definitions of Healthy Ranges for Serum Alanine Aminotransferase Levels Daniele Prati , Emanuela Taioli , Alberto Zanella , Emanuela Della Torre , Sonia Butelli , Emanuela Del Vecchio , Luciana Vianello , Francesco Zanuso , Fulvio Mozzi , Silvano Milani , Dario Conte , Massimo Colombo , and Girolamo Sirchia Brief Communication: Clinical Implications of Short-Term Variability in Liver Function Test Results Mariana Lazo , Elizabeth Selvin , and Jeanne M. Clark Drawing Conclusions about Short-Term Variability in Liver Function Test Results Weekitt Kittisupamongkol Drawing Conclusions about Short-Term Variability in Liver Function Test Results Liu Hong , Kaichun Wu , and Daiming Fan Drawing Conclusions about Short-Term Variability in Liver Function Test Results Agostino Colli and Daniele Prati Drawing Conclusions about Short-Term Variability in Liver Function Test Results Mariana Lazo , Elizabeth Selvin , and Jeanne M. Clark Metrics 15 July 2008Volume 149, Issue 2Page: 144KeywordsAlanine aminotransferaseGenetic diseasesHealth surveysHispanic peopleHomozygosityLiverLiver diseasesLiver function testsNutritionRelative risk ePublished: 15 July 2008 Issue Published: 15 July 2008 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2008 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...