Clinical Significance

Circulatory ammonia levels in normal individuals is relatively low despite the fact that ammonia is continuously produced from dietary and amino acid metabolism. Monitoring blood ammonia levels can be useful in the diagnosis of hepatic encephalopathy and hepatic coma in the terminal stages of liver cirrhosis, heptaic failure, acute and subacute necrosis, and Reye's syndrome. Hyperammonemia in infants may be an indicator of inherited deficiencies of the urea cycle metabolic pathway.

_{Source: Beckman Coulter Unicel, AMM IFU. REF #439770 12/22/15}