Serum Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase is the full form of SGOT. It is generally referred to as AST, which stands for aspartate aminotransferase. It is an enzyme found in tissues other than bone, including liver, heart, kidney, skeletal muscle, and other tissues. SGOT is an enzyme produced by your liver. Other organs also make smaller amounts, such as the kidneys, heart, brain, and muscles.
SGOT levels are low in the blood of a healthy man. A normal SGOT blood level is approximately 5 to 40 units per liter of serum. Whenever heart tissues, liver tissues, kidney tissues and other tissues are damaged, SGOT or AST is released into the blood.
A high AST level is a sign of liver damage, but it can also mean that you have damaged another organ, such as the kidneys or heart, that is causing it. This is why doctors also perform AST tests along with other liver enzyme tests.
Why do individuals need to take the SGOT test?
A doctor may order an AST test if an individual has signs of liver damage, e.g
- Yellow eyes or skin, known as jaundice
- Weakness
- Skin itching
- Swollen belly
- Loss Of Appetite
- Fatigue
- Stomach pain
- Bruises
- Light-coloured faeces
- Dark-coloured urine
- Swelling in your ankles and legs
There may be other reasons why the doctor prescribed the test, which are listed below.
- If a person in the family has liver disease.
- The individual was exposed to the hepatitis virus.
- Individuals take medications that damage the liver.
- When people have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
- If the person has diabetes or metabolic syndrome or obesity syndrome.
- Individuals drink significant amounts of alcohol.
SGOT test side effects
Some of the side effects of the SGOT test are listed below.
- Infection
- Bruises
- Dizziness
- Bleeding
- Accumulation of blood under the skin