Introduction

Why is Hepatotoxicity important? Because more than 900 drugs can cause it! Hepatotoxicity simply means damage to the liver. There are many commonly known drugs out there that, when misused, can lead to hepatotoxicity.This is a very serious issue that can affect anyone. According to the FDA, drug-induced liver injury is now the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States!
The liver is a vital organ that has many functions including the production of plasma proteins, the storage of energy reserves, the excretion of bile, and the detoxification of poisons. As you can see, the liver is extremely important! Without it, our body cannot function properly.
There are many signs and symptoms of hepatotoxicity including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and jaundice. The signs and symptoms vary from person to person and are explained in more detail throughout our blog.
This issue is very important for all kinds of people because it can happen to anyone and, if left untreated, can become fatal.
Consumers must be aware of the dangers of drug-induced liver damage in order to protect themselves.
This is also an important topic for medical personnel. Knowing about hepatotoxicity will help to treat patients more effectively. Patients suffering from hepatotoxicity will be recognized faster and treated better.
Knowing about drug-induced liver damage will reduce the risk for very serious health problems.
If you are interested in learning more about hepatotoxicity, then you are in the right spot!

http://www.liverfoundation.org/education/info/alcohol
http://www.aasld.org/conferences/meetings/Pages/2009HepatotoxicitySpecialInterestGroupMeeting.aspx
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/169814-overview

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Herbal Hepatotoxicity



Herbal supplements are being used more and more frequently due to media hype and to some of the great benefits they have been shown to provide. They are also a nice alternative to individuals looking to self medicate, or to save on health care costs. There seems to be a misconception to the general public that herbs are somehow safer than other drugs because they are natural. While some herbs may provide beneficial outcomes, they can become dangerous by themselves or in combination with other pharmaceuticals since they are not as tightly mandated by the FDA as other drugs are. The public should make themselves aware of potential drug reactions when using herbal supplements in order to protect themselves from possible complications such as hepatotoxicity. Nurses also need to become aware of possible drug/herb reactions in order to teach patients about the potential hazards of self medicating. Patients should always give their physicians a full list of herbal supplements they are taking as a first line of defense against complications and nurses should remember to ask details about herbal supplements when getting a medical history report because many people do not think of the herbs they consume as "medications" that they are taking.

One example of a possibly deadly combination of herbal supplements and medication that can cause hepatotoxicity is acetaminophen in combination with the herbs Echinacia and kava or the herbs that have salicylate (willow and meadowsweet). Echinacia is used for a variety of medicinal purposes such as burns, urinary tract infections, colon cancer and many others so it is used by a large number of Americans who are looking for a way to self medicate. Although it has many beneficial side effects, it's use with acetaminophen can prove to be fatal. There have been no real experimental studies to make this evidence concrete yet health care professionals should be aware of the growing trend of this drug/herb reaction. Kava also is used for a number of different purposes such as anxiety, muscles spasms and depression but also has the same potential for hepatotoxicity as does Echinacia when used in combination with acetaminophen or even alone. There has been a report in the United States of a young woman who required a liver transplant after using Kava. Willow and meadowsweet should also be monitored for their potential hepatotoxicity effects.

Green tea extract is a common over the counter herbal supplement used for weight loss purposes and has also been shown to create hepatotoxicity in humans.

While it is apparent that herbal supplements do provide some benefits to people, they should be taken with caution as we are still learning about possible side effects of hepatotoxicity when some are used alone or in combination with other common medications such as acetaminophen.





Green tea extract (Green Lite): suspected association with hepatotoxicity. (2007). Canadian Adverse Reaction Newsletter, Retrieved March 29, 2009, from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.

Abebe, W. (2002, December). Herbal medication: potential for adverse interactions with analgesic drugs. Journal of Clinical Pharmacy & Therapeutics, 27(6), 391-401. Retrieved March 29, 2009, from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.

6 comments:

  1. I take several vitamin supplements and never dreamed that they could be dangerous when taken with other medications; I just assumed they were healthy for me. Thank you for the warning; the next time I visit my doctor I will be certain to list these vitamins in addition to my current medications that I am taking.

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  2. this sounds very serious. I never knew that vitamins and supplements could be potentially dangerous. I always thought I was being more healthy by taking these, but now I understand that they may not be if I take them incorrectly. Thanks for the information. It has been very helpful

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  3. Wow, I never knew that vitamins and herbal supplements could be this dangerous either!! Why don't doctors do more teaching to the patients about this kind of thing?

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  4. If green tea is hepatotoxic then black tea should also be but it is not known yet

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