Mild ALT elevation asymptomatic, curiosity

[Nannarnaluk]

If this isn't allowed I apologize, definitely not looking for medical advice as we are actively treating, looking for education.

I'm a pre-vet student and have a 2 year old sighthound that had a weekend of vomiting two weeks ago. Took him to the ER and nothing was found wrong other than mildly elevated ALT level. Rechecked the next day and it hadn't decreased, but wasn't increasing. Rechecked today and it was still mildly elevated. My vet would like to recheck in a month and follow up with more diagnostics if things aren't changing. The thing is is that my dog is now acting perfectly normal. My limited understanding of ALT is that it has a short half life and that it is only present under very specific conditions with either the muscles, liver, or occasionally the kidneys taking active damage. I guess I am wanting to learn more about ALT, and if anyone else has dealt with a perplexing ALT case that you wouldn't mind sharing?

TIA

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[battie]

Keep in mind that sighthounds do weird physiological things. I don't remember if ALT is one of them. But it might be that an elevated ALT is normal for them.

An elevated ALT may also be normal for this specific individual.

Elevated also depends on the clinical picture and the vet and even the machine or lab.

eClinpath dot com is what I use for a quick and dirty review of clin path values. You could also research some review articles on ALT in sight hounds and see what you find.

 

[Nannarnaluk]

Keep in mind that sighthounds do weird physiological things. I don't remember if ALT is one of them. But it might be that an elevated ALT is normal for them.

An elevated ALT may also be normal for this specific individual.

Elevated also depends on the clinical picture and the vet and even the machine or lab.

eClinpath dot com is what I use for a quick and dirty review of clin path values. You could also research some review articles on ALT in sight hounds and see what you find.

Thank you! I've been looking and eClinpath definitely made me feel more at ease since it's not significantly elevated. He has had norm ALT values before. I was aware of the odd things with sighthounds, but didn't even think to check the literature in regards to ALT, I appreciate it!