Serum transaminase levels after experimental paracetamol induced hepatic necrosis

Abstract

The relation between serum transaminase levels and the extent of paracetamol induced liver necrosis was investigated in the rat. Three methods of histologic quantitation were used to assess the degree of necrosis, arbitrary grading, point counting, and the image analysis computer. Highly significant correlations were obtained between the three methods and all were found to be reproducible. A close correlation was found between the extent of hepatic necrosis and the serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase 24 hr after a large dose (4 g/kg) of paracetamol. Likewise, the mean grade of necrosis correlated reasonably well with the serum enzyme levels in the recovery phase at 36 and 72 hr, although the transaminase level for a given degree of necrosis was considerably lower at 72 hr than at 24 hr. These findings suggest that serum transaminase levels give a reliable indication of the severity of hepatic necrosis if the time of ingestion of the paracetamol is known and taken into account.