A Conspectus: Hepatotoxicity Caused by Drug’s

Abstract

Liver is the principle organ for metabolism of various drugs, endotoxins. Hepatotoxicity is one of the reversible conditions. Drugs are an vital cause of liver injury. Drug-induced injury to the liver can mimic any form of acute or chronic liver disease. The action of cytochrome P450 can induce acute injury to liver, through which drug will break down into electrophiles or free radicals. These spontaneous metabolites can covalently bind to protein and unsaturated fatty acids or induce lipid peroxidation, respectively. The clinical presentation of liver damage may be either cytolytic or cholestatic. Systemic hypersensitivity reaction against the applied agent may be one of the major causes of liver damage. Drug- or toxin-induced liver damage includes vascular damage, induction of liver tumours and development of liver cirrhosis. The most important pre-emptive measure is judicious drug used by the prescribing physician. Early recognition of hepatotoxicity and termination of the offending agent is essential for treatment. The diagnosis may be confirmed by additional diagnostic measures (e. g. liver biopsy) or the clinical course after exposure to the causing agent has been stopped. Therefore, the main aim is to prevent chronic liver damage through early and correct diagnosis. Due to the extensive variety of possibly liver toxic drugs and chemical agents this aspect is a major challenge to physicians. Taking into account the significance of drug-induced hepatotoxicity as a key cause of liver damage, this review pitch light on various drugs which induce hepatotoxicity, with their mechanism of liver damage and clinical scenario.