Thursday, February, 09, 2012

ALP

Table of Contents

Alternative Names

Alkaline phosphatase


Normal Values

The normal range is 44 to 147 IU/L (international units per liter).

Normal values may vary slightly from laboratory to laboratory. They also can vary with age and gender. High levels of ALP are normally seen in children undergoing growth spurts and in pregnant women.


What abnormal results mean

Higher-than-normal ALP levels may be due to:

  • Anemia
  • Biliary obstruction
  • Bone disease
  • Healing fracture
  • Hepatitis
  • Hyperparathyroidism
  • Leukemia
  • Liver disease
  • Osteoblastic bone cancers
  • Osteomalacia
  • Paget's disease
  • Rickets

Lower-than-normal ALP levels (hypophosphatasemia) may be due to:

  • Malnutrition
  • Protein deficiency

Additional conditions under which the test may be performed:

  • Alcoholic liver disease (hepatitis/cirrhosis)
  • Alcoholism
  • Biliary stricture
  • Gallstones
  • Giant cell (temporal, cranial) arteritis
  • Multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) II
  • Renal cell carcinoma

Review Date: 05/07/2009
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)