Although there is a great deal of overlap in liver test result abnormalities seen in these three categories, particularly in cholestatic and infiltrative disorders, an attempt to characterize an otherwise undifferentiated clinical case as hepatocellular, cholestatic, or infiltrative often makes subsequent evaluation faster
and more efficient. The AST, ALT,
and alkaline phosphatase tests are most useful to make the distinction between hepatocellular and cholestatic disease.