[Liver damage caused by drugs]

Drug injury of the liver presents as I. functional disorder without jaundice; 2. predominant cholostatic disease; 3. predominant hepatitic disease; 4. a combination of 2 und 3.--A predictable dose related direct toxic injury can be differentiated from an unpredictable dose independent indirect injury mostly of the hypersensitivity type. Special varieties are severe fatty liver, peliosis, Budd-Chiari-Syndrome, liver tumors and granulomas. The diagnosis can be proven by reexposition or better--by the in vitro lymphocyte stimulation test. --There is no specific treatment apart from stopping the responsible drug. Prognosis is good but in some cases a chronic course develops presenting as chronic aggressive hepatitis or cirrhosis.

PMID: 7166150 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]