Serum aldolase with creatine kinase in current clinical practice

To devise a clinical laboratory policy for serum aldolase (ALD) requests, the use of ALD alone and in conjunction with serum creatine kinase (CK) was studied in 126 consecutive patients. Both enzymes were normal in 76 cases (60.3%); CK was normal but ALD was raised in 19 cases (15.1%); ALD was normal but CK raised in nine cases (7.1%); and both were raised in 16 (12.7%). The spectrum of disease was similar irrespective of the enzymes elevated. The role of ALD in the diagnosis and monitoring of muscle disease is in those cases where CK falls within the reference range.