AST can help detect what before jaundice occurs?

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AST is an enzyme released when liver cells are injured. In acute hepatitis, rapid hepatocellular damage causes a surge of AST in the blood even before enough bilirubin builds up to cause jaundice. That early rise in AST makes it a useful marker for detecting hepatocellular injury before jaundice appears.

Pancreatitis isn’t centered on liver cell injury, so AST isn’t the best early indicator there. Gallstone–related obstruction mainly elevates bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase after cholestasis develops, not as an early AST signal. Cirrhosis reflects long-standing damage, and jaundice typically appears later in its course, so AST elevation isn’t the earliest warning in that scenario.