Levels and Initial Course of Serum Alanine Aminotransferase Can Predict Outcome of Patients With Budd-Chiari Syndrome

Determination of ALT levels at patient presentation allows 2 variants of Budd-Chiari syndrome to be distinguished. High levels of ALT reflect acute, severe, but potentially reversible, ischemic liver cell necrosis. High levels of ALT that decrease slowly predict a poor outcome for patients and might justify rapid aggressive management.