Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32267017›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical laboratory analysis2020

Revision of serum ALT upper limits of normal facilitates assessment of mild liver injury in obese children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Yutian Lu, Qiongdan Wang, Lisha Yu, XueRui Yin, Huijie Yang, Xi Xu, Ying Xia, Yue Luo, Ying Peng, Qigui Yu and 6 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical laboratory analysis, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Yutian LuDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Qiongdan WangDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Lisha YuDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
XueRui YinDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Huijie YangDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Xi XuDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Ying XiaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Yue LuoDepartment of Pediatric Endocrinology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Ying PengSchool of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Qigui YuDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Zhanguo ChenDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Jian YuDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Meimei LaiDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Nan WuPeking University People's Hospital, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Hepatitis C and Immunotherapy for Liver Diseases, Beijing, China.
Xiao-Ben PanSchool of Medicine, Department of Basic Medical Science, Key Laboratory of Aging and Cancer Biology of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Inflammation and Immunoregulation of Hangzhou, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Xiaoqun ZhengDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9816-4833
Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China · CNWenzhou Medical University · CNHangzhou Normal University · CNIndiana University School of MedicinePeking University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level is a critical parameter for evaluating liver injury in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the currently accepted upper limits of normal (ULN) for serum ALT (ULN-ALT) are debated, as they may be excessively high.

methodsA total of 1638 children aged 6-16 years, comprising 507 children with normal BMI (500 healthy children and 7 children with NAFLD), 199 overweight children, and 932 obese children, were included in the analysis. We re-evaluated the ULN-ALT in 500 healthy Chinese children using the 95th percentiles of serum ALT levels as revised ULN-ALT. Fatty liver was identified by ultrasound examination.

resultsSignificant positive correlations between serum ALT levels and body mass index (BMI) were detected in overweight boys (r = .399, P < .001), obese boys (r = .398, P < .001), and obese girls (r = .392, P < .001). The prevalence percentages of NAFLD were 93.6%, 75.8%, and 37.9% in obese boys with serum ALT levels of >50, 25-50, and ≤25 U/L and were 81.6%, 67.9%, and 20.6% in obese girls with serum ALT levels of >40, 20-40, and ≤20 U/L, respectively.

conclusionSerum ALT levels significantly correlated with abnormal BMI values in children, suggesting a rigorous BMI threshold is needed to establish the cutoffs for serum ULN-ALT in children. Besides, the revised serum ULN-ALT can uncover mild liver injury in obese children with NAFLD.

Indexed as

AdolescentAlanine TransaminaseBody Mass IndexChildFemaleHumansMaleNon-alcoholic Fatty Liver DiseaseObesityOverweightReference ValuesUltrasonographyAlanine Transaminasealanine aminotransferasebody mass indexnon-alcoholic fatty liver diseaseupper limit of normal

Identifiers

PMID32267017
PMCPMC7370732
OpenAlexW3014338335

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.