At a glance
| Analyte | Aspartate aminotransferase |
|---|---|
| Also called | SGOT, Serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, GOT |
| Method | Enzymatic kinetic UV |
| Sample type | Serum, Plasma |
| Panel | Hepatic |
| Discipline | Clinical chemistry |
| Brand | Mindray |
What AST (SGOT) measures
Aspartate aminotransferase is present in liver tissue but also in heart muscle, skeletal muscle and red cells, and that wider distribution is precisely what makes it useful next to ALT rather than redundant. When both enzymes rise together the liver is the likely source; when AST rises well out of proportion to ALT the laboratory looks beyond the liver, at muscle injury, at haemolysis in the sample itself, or at patterns of liver disease in which the ratio characteristically inverts. Because red cells contain it, a haemolysed specimen falsely raises the result, which is one of the few chemistry assays where the appearance of the sample genuinely changes how the number should be read.
How Philippine laboratories run it
Reported as SGOT on virtually every Philippine request form and packaged with SGPT in annual physical examination and pre-employment panels, so its volume tracks SGPT almost exactly and the two should be ordered on the same schedule. Framar plans them together for that reason. The haemolysis caveat matters more here than elsewhere: in busy outpatient collection areas where specimens are drawn quickly and transported some distance before separation, a visibly haemolysed sample should be recollected rather than run, because nothing on the analyzer will flag the falsely elevated result that follows.
Analyzers it runs on
* BA-88A: Semi-automated: assay parameters are entered manually at setup.
Calibrator, controls and companion tests
Delivered with its calibrator, both control levels and the rest of the hepatic panel, on the same schedule as AST (SGOT).
Storage and handling
Refrigerated and kept closed when off the analyzer.
Buying AST (SGOT) in the Philippines
AST (SGOT) is supplied for the BS-600M, BS-430, BS-360E, BS-240Pro, BS-230 and BA-88A. We deliver it with Multi-Sera Calibrator and Chemistry Control Level 1, because a run held up waiting on a separate order costs the same shift a stock-out does. Delivery is scheduled against your monthly AST (SGOT) count, so the bench is not rationing tests in the last week of the month. How we plan clinical chemistry supply.
Questions about AST (SGOT)
Does a haemolysed sample affect the SGOT result?
Yes, and more than most chemistry assays. Red cells contain aspartate aminotransferase, so when they rupture the enzyme is released into the serum and the measured value rises independently of anything happening in the patient. A visibly haemolysed specimen should be recollected rather than run, because the result will be plausible, elevated and wrong, and no analyzer flag will catch it.
Order AST (SGOT)
Tell us your monthly AST (SGOT) volume and we will quote a supply schedule for BS-600M. We reply within one business day.
Request a quotation