ISSN: 2474-9214
Authors: Kumar A, Ashwlayan VD* and Verma M
The number of drugs associated with adverse reactions involving the liver is extensive. One of the more common reasons for the withdrawal of a drug from the marketplace is an elevation of liver enzymes. Alcohol-induced liver disease is the most common type of drug-induced liver disease. All other drugs together account for less than 10% of patients hospitalized for elevated liver enzymes. In approximately 75% of these cases liver transplantation is ultimately required for patient survival. The liver’s function affects almost every other organ system in the body. It is important to know the patterns of drug-related pathology in order to assess adverse reactions when they occur. It is also important to understand how and when to monitor for these reactions. For some drugs, a genetic or acquired abnormality must exist in a particular metabolic pathway for a toxic reaction to take place in other cases, the reactions are typically associated with a drug concentration and often respond to simply lowering the dose of the drug. Idiosyncratic reactions tend to occur without association to particular blood concentrations or specifically identified metabolic abnormalities. For example, sulfonylureas like glipizide and antibiotics like ciprofloxacin have caused severe liver disease, resulting in the need for transplantation in a very small group of patients. Idiosyncratic reactions are rare and are sometimes described as liver hypersensitivity to a drug.
Keywords: Hypersensitivity; Sulfonylurea; Liver disease; Liver enzyme
