This is an automatically translated article.
High liver enzymes in children are becoming more and more common and tend to increase in number. However, many parents are subjective, do not know about the causes as well as symptoms and how to prevent high liver enzymes in their children.
1. What is elevated liver enzymes?
Liver enzymes are also known as catalytic enzymes in the liver. There are 4 main types of liver enzymes:
Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP); Aspartate transaminase (AST); Alanine transaminase (ALT); Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). When liver cells are damaged for some reason, the concentration of these catalytic enzymes will increase and dissolve into the blood. This results in a certain liver enzyme concentration that exceeds the standard limit. Normal liver enzymes should be in the range:
ALT < 40U/L for men and < 37 U/L for women; AST in both men and women should be < 40U/L; GGT in men should be < 60U/L, in women should be in the range of 07 - 32UL; ALP in men and women should be between 30 - 115U/L. When the liver enzyme index exceeds the above criteria, it is called high liver enzymes. What's wrong with high liver enzymes? When the liver enzyme index is higher than the standard level, it indicates that bad liver problems are taking place. If not controlled in time, high liver enzymes can progress to more dangerous diseases such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, liver cancer...
2. Why are liver enzymes high in children?
High liver enzyme status in children is increasing in number and age. If the cause of elevated liver enzymes in adults comes from eating habits, living habits and some diseases, high liver enzymes in children are mainly caused by congenital, disorders. metabolic or inherited from mother to pregnancy.
2.1. Congenital causes
High liver enzymes in children can be congenital or inherited if family members, especially parents of children have elevated liver enzymes or have liver diseases such as hepatitis, fatty liver ...
2.2. Polluted environment
Polluted environment, food contaminated with many toxic chemicals will make the liver work harder to remove these toxins from the body. This is the cause of high liver enzymes in children because the liver has to work too hard.
Thuốc kháng sinh có thể gây ra tình trạng men gan cao ở trẻ em
2.3. High liver enzymes in children due to hepatitis
If the mother is infected with hepatitis A, hepatitis B or hepatitis C during pregnancy, the risk of transmitting hepatitis to the fetus and baby is very high. In case, the baby is not vaccinated against hepatitis in time, he will get hepatitis from his mother, leading to elevated liver enzymes.
Therefore, if a pregnant woman has hepatitis A, B or C during pregnancy, she should have regular check-ups so that her doctor can advise on how to prevent infection to the fetus. After birth, the baby needs to be vaccinated against hepatitis within the first 24 hours after birth to avoid the risk of transmission from mother to baby.
2.4. Antibiotics
Some antibiotics that children use to treat the disease can have side effects that affect the liver, causing the child's liver enzymes to rise higher than normal.
2.5. Elevated liver enzymes in obese children
Children with diets supplemented with too much protein and fat are prone to obesity, which easily leads to fatty liver accompanied by elevated liver enzymes.
2.6. Due to formula milk
Formula does not provide antitrypsin, so the baby's liver cannot metabolize all the substances in milk. This can be dangerous for the liver leading to elevated liver enzymes in children.3. Identification signs
In the early stages, children with high liver enzymes often have difficulty because there are no obvious symptoms. However, testing and early detection of elevated liver enzymes in children greatly helps in the treatment process. Therefore, parents should pay attention to even the smallest manifestations in children, especially the following abnormal signs:
Jaundice : High liver enzymes in children can make the young skin more yellow than usual, sometimes appearance of mucous membranes in the oral cavity. At that time, parents should take their children to medical facilities for timely examination; Pale yellow stools: Under normal conditions, the liver will excrete bile and enter the small intestine to participate in the digestion of food. Elevated liver enzymes in children can occur after damage to the liver that causes bile to flow back into the bloodstream and cause bloating, indigestion or pale stools (due to the absence of bile pigments); Itchy skin: When liver function is disturbed, increased liver enzymes due to overwork will result in toxins not being eliminated outside and may be the cause of whole body itching or localization of a body area; Edema: This is a typical sign of high liver enzymes in children, often in places such as ankles and feet; Other symptoms: Children with high liver enzymes may also record symptoms such as nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, body weakness ... If parents detect that their child has abnormal symptoms as above, need to be taken to the hospital quickly for early diagnosis and timely treatment. Other tests that should be ordered include tests to find the cause (such as detecting the viruses that cause hepatitis), a general abdominal ultrasound to evaluate the general condition of the liver.
Symptoms of elevated liver enzymes in children tend to be worse at night, causing discomfort and severely affecting quality of life. If this condition is prolonged and without appropriate interventions, it can lead to more dangerous complications such as liver failure, liver cancer ...
Men gan cao ở trẻ em khiến trẻ bị ngứa da toàn thân
4. Prevention of high liver enzymes in children
For the mother's history of hepatitis diseases, before and during pregnancy, it is necessary to be examined by a specialist doctor to take measures to prevent infection to the baby. In particular, during the first 24 hours after birth, children should be vaccinated against hepatitis B; Pregnant women need to build a proper nutrition and lifestyle regimen, rest, and maximize the healthy development of the fetus; Babies need to be exclusively breastfed for at least the first 6 months and possibly up to 2 years of age. Breast milk has long been considered a source of nutrition that is both safe and complete with essential nutrients and cannot be replaced by any other milk. Formula-fed babies can lead to deficiencies in some nutrients, and can cause high liver enzymes in some babies; Pregnant women need to maintain an ideal weight, minimize overweight and obesity.
Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.
