Re: Alanine transaminase rather than abdominal ultrasound alone is an important investigation to justify cholecystectomy in patients presenting with acute pancreatitis.

摘要

I write with reference to the informative study by Anderson and colleagues on the use of alanine transaminase (ALT) as an indicator of gallstone pancreatitis, published in a recent edition of this journal. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) have been shown to be sensitive indicators for the presence of common bile duct stones and cholangitis; however, ALT is a more sensitive, but less specific, parameter. We read with interest Anderson et al.'s description of the role of ALT in the treatment of acute pancreatitis and would like to resolve our subsequent queries and offer several comments.