Identifying drugs that may cause hepatotoxicity

Investigators may have uncovered the real-world incidence rates of severe acute liver injury following initiation of drugs suspected to be hepatotoxic, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The investigators analyzed the data of nearly 8 million patients without preexisting liver or biliary disease who began use of one of 194 suspected hepatotoxic drugs between 2000 and 2021. They discovered that 17 of the drugs had the highest rates of severe acute liver injury — a majority of which were antimicrobial drugs. However, 64% of them were not included in the highest hepatotoxicity category based on published case reports.

The findings suggested that patients initiating drugs identified as high risk for hepatotoxicity may require more vigilant liver function monitoring.

Read more: JAMA Internal Medicine

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