Liver function in a group of hospitalised alcoholics and non-hospitalised problem drinking probationers.

Twenty non-hospitalised problem male drinkers and 20 hospitalised problem drinkers were investigated by the Michigan alcohol screening test (MAST) and by liver function tests (AST, ALT). The MAST scores of the non-hospitalised group were above normal and indicative of alcohol addiction, AST and ALT tended to be higher in the hospitalised but not indicative of severe liver damage.