A 45-year-old woman presents with a 1-week history of jaundice, anorexia, and right upper quadrant discomfort. On examination she is icteric, with a tender right upper quadrant and liver span of 14 cm. There is no shifting dullness or pedal edema and the heart and lungs are normal. On further inquiry, she reports consuming one bottle of wine a day for the past 6 months. Which of the following laboratory tests is most likely to be characteristic of a patient with jaundice secondary to alcoholic hepatitis?
High-Yield Explanation
In alcoholic hepatitis, the AST:ALT ratio is usually > 2, and the level of AST is usually < 300. When viral hepatitis or toxin-induced hepatitis causes jaundice, the AST:ALT ratio is usually 1 or less, and the transaminases are usually > 500.