My pet's liver enzymes are high. Is their liver damaged or sick?

Since young dogs are still growing it is always possible for liver values to be elevated. The AST and ALP can normally be elevated in younger dogs. I would not be concerned unless Bruno is acting ill. If he has any vomiting, diarrhea or anorexia I would recommend taking him to the vet for an exam

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If Sancho's liver values are elevated due to the ingestion of some foreign material, be it a plant or other toxin, & he is eating with no vomiting or diarrhea, your veterinarian may be taking a wait & watch approach. Usually, we will administer emetics ( to induce vomiting ) & an intestinal absorbant such as charcoal if this was an acute issue. But often we do not see these elevations for hours to days after an insult to the liver has occurred. If Sancho is well, rechecking the values in several weeks is prudent. The values may change by this time. If not, we need to see if this is a chronic issue with the liver, or possibly even the gall bladder. Medications may be need ed at this time, including some neutraceuticals such as Sam-e and milk thistle. It is important that you stay in close contact with Sancho's veterinarian for any recommendations. Take care.

I assume when you say liver enzymes you mean ALT? There a few enzymes we look at and elevation in 1 value makes us consider different causes then elevation in another. ALT elevation is caused make liver cell injury and leakage of enzymes in to the bloodstream. As the liver sees all the blood of the body it can be quite a reactive organ. So the question is whether the liver enzyme is up because of something wrong with the liver/vessels to liver themselves (such as an infectious or inflammatory cause (hepatitis) or a shunt (more common in younger dogs)) or something the liver is responding too (toxicity, disease of over organs). Unfortunately all parts of sago palm are toxic to dogs with the seeds (nuts) being most toxic. And it can be quite challenging to know if this is the cause. If it is sago it depends on the degree of ingestion as to how severe the case is. Unfortunately the treatment for this is supportive as you have been doing. The values may continue to increase or hopefully may plateau off and remain mildly elevated or decrease again. Ultrasound will help to rule out other things going on in the abdomen, assess the liver for changes in texture (although a liver can appear normal on an ultrasound and not be functionally normal), and sometimes identify a portosystemic shunt. After the ultrasound then sampling either first by fine needle aspirate or with a biopsy (needed for many cases of hepatitis, some other issues) can be performed. Checking platelets and clotting times should be performed prior to liver sampling in patients whose livers are not normal to decrease the risk of bleeding from sampling. As shunts are more common in younger animals , if this is suspected, additional imaging may be recommended prior to sampling as ultrasound will not identify all shunts. There is also a disorder called microvascular dysplasia that can be found in the liver. This is best diagnosed by liver biopsy and the sample sent to a pathologist who specializes in liver pathology. I hope this has helped and not confused you more. It sounds like your vet has taken the appropriate steps thus far and has recommended the next best steps to try to rule out some other causes. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am not sure what is going on with Danny, but he is a young dog. The photo is very blurry but it looks as though ALL his liver enzymes are elevated: ALT, AST and ALP (alkaline phosphatase). These enzymes DO NOT indicate whether the liver is functioning normally or not. They indicate that the liver cells are leaking these enzymes in to the blood stream. This could be from liver inflammation secondary to an infection with in the liver or gallbladder, intestinal inflammation, pancreatitis, inflammatory liver conditions or cancer. In order to know if Danny's liver is functioning normally your Vet needs to do a bile acid test. Danny would go in fasted and then the Vet draws a blood sample. They then feed Danny and take a second blood sample an hour later to measure how the liver clears bile from the blood stream I hope this helps and Danny is ok

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Abnormal liver enzymes typically indicate a more acute injury, and can actually return to normal as conditions become more chronic. Fluid build up can be due to low proteins in the blood, which are not being made by the liver or lost through the intestines or kidney. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have, or take a look at any results you have from Kimi.

Hello, sorry to hear about Tootie. Not necessarily, the liver may be affected by a disease that could be happening in another organ such as cushings or diabetes. An infection in his GI tract or urinary system can also sometimes cause elevation of the liver enzymes. If there is no disease identified an another place of the body, then liver injury may be intermittent or it may be that his live is diseased. Inflammation, infection, or even benign and malignant tumors may affect the liver. Your veterinarian will likely recommend recheck bloodwork, diagnostics imaging such as an abdominal ultrasound and liver biopsies. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Luna. This value is a liver enzyme. It can be elevated due to liver disease or a skeletal muscle problem. Liver disease in young puppies can be congenital disorder such as a portosystemic shunt or secondary to an infection. When I have a result such as this, I will recheck blood work in a week. If the value is still elevated, then I will run a separate blood test known as a bile acids panel. This is a liver function test. The elevation could due to something as simple as her shaking during the blood draw (skeletal muscle), but you want to ensure she is not experiencing any disease. I hope this information helps!