Alkaline phosphatase is an enzyme present in almost all weaves of the
organism, being particularly high in bone, liver, placenta, intestine and
kidney.
Both increases and decreases of plasma ALP are of importance clinically.
Causes of increased plasma ALP: Paget’s disease of bone, obstructive
liver disease, hepatitis, hepatotoxicity caused by drugs or osteomalacia.
Causes of decreased plasma ALP: Cretinism and vitamin C deficiency1,5,6.
Clinical diagnosis should not be made on a single test result; it should
integrate clinical and other laboratory data.
Alkaline phosphatase is an enzyme present in almost all weaves of the
organism, being particularly high in bone, liver, placenta, intestine and
kidney.
Both increases and decreases of plasma ALP are of importance clinically.
Causes of increased plasma ALP: Paget’s disease of bone, obstructive
liver disease, hepatitis, hepatotoxicity caused by drugs or osteomalacia.
Causes of decreased plasma ALP: Cretinism and vitamin C deficiency1,5,6.
Clinical diagnosis should not be made on a single test result; it should
integrate clinical and other laboratory data.
INTERFERENCES
Fluoride, oxalate, citrate and EDTA inhibit alkaline phosphate activity and should
therefore not be used as anticoagulants. Haemolyses interferes due to the high
concentration of alkaline phosphatase in red cells1,2.
A list of drugs and other interfering substances with acid phosphatase
determination has been reported3,4.
NOTES
SPINREACT has instruction sheets for several automatic analyzers.
Instructions for many of them are available on request.
