Original Research

Significance of AST to ALT Ratio in Predicting Esophageal Varices in Cirrhotic Patients taking Esophagogastroduodenoscopy as Gold Standard

Syed Zeeshan Ilyas1
Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital Gujrat,
Faisal Rasheed1
Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital Gujrat,
Irfan Younus1
Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital Gujrat,
Muhammad Afzal Choudhry1
Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital Gujrat,
Furqan Tahir1
Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital Gujrat,
Adnan Qadir2
Islamic international Medical College Rawalpindi

✉ Correspondence: Irfan Younus Email: irfanyounis7887@gmail.com

DOI https://doi.org/10.70302/jpsim.v5i3.2451
Volume: 5, Issue 3 Pages: 615–618 Published: 30 Aug 2024
Received: 16 May 2024 Accepted: 07 Aug 2024 Published Online: 30 Aug 2024

Abstract

Objective

To determine the significance of AST to ALT ratio in predicting esophageal varices taking esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) as the gold standard in cirrhotic patients

Methods

This six-month cross-sectional study included 193 patients. It was conducted in medical ward of DHQ Teaching Hospital, Gujrat from 11th Jul, 2021 to 11th Jan, 2022. Proper history, examination and ultrasound abdomen was done of every patient to make the diagnosis cirrhosis. LFTs and EGD was done of every patient and all data was saved. AST/ALT was calculated and endoscopic presence or absence of esophageal varices was recorded. SPSS 23was used to enter and analyze the data.

Results

Mean age (years) was 55.68+13.69, eighty-seven (45.1%) were male and 106 (54.9%) females. There were 74 (38.3%) patients of esophageal varices who had AST/ALT ratio more than > 1.12 and 119 (61.7%) patients with less than 1.12 value. On endoscopy 89 (46.1%) patients had esophageal varices. A 2 by 2 table was utilized to determine the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV (positive predictive value) and NPV (negative predictive value) of AST to ALT ratio in predicting esophageal varices taking EGD as gold standard which was 65.28%, 54.02%, 74.53%, 63.51% and 66.39% respectively.

Conclusion

An effective non-invasive diagnostic tool for predicting esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients is the AST/ALT ratio

Keywords
Esophageal Varices Cirrhosis Upper GI Endoscopy AST ALT

How to Cite This Article

Ilyas SZ, Rasheed F, Younus I, Choudhry MA, Tahir F, Qadir A. Significance of AST to ALT Ratio in Predicting Esophageal Varices in Cirrhotic Patients taking Esophagogastroduodenoscopy as Gold Standard. J Pak Soc Intern Med. 2024;5(3):615–618. doi:10.70302/jpsim.v5i3.2451

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Conflict of Interest

All authors declare no competing interests.

Disclosed in accordance with ICMJE and COPE guidelines.

Funding

No specific funding was received for this research.

Funder information follows the Crossref Funder Registry standard.

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CC BY CC BY 4.0 This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. May be shared and adapted with attribution. © 2024 Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine.
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