Clinical features
Drugs damaging the liver typically cause jaundice and/or hepatitis (inflammation of the liver). Paracetamol overdose may cause acute hepatitis leading to fulminant hepatic failure. An anaesthetic gas called halothane can cause a similar clinical picture with extensive liver damage. Hepatitis may present with non-specific symptoms such as malaise, fatigue, poor appetite, nausea, weight loss, vomiting and abdominal discomfort.
Other drugs e.g. chlorpromazine used to treat psychiatric disorders, may cause jaundice with pruritus, pale stools and dark urine.
Some drugs may cause long-term liver damage leading to chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. This can be due to long-term administration of the drug over months or years but the pathological processes may continue even after short-term ingestion of the medicine. Drugs causing this type of effect include amiodarone (cardiac drug), aspirin, diclofenac (arthritis drug), isoniazid (TB treatment), minocycline (acne drug) and valporate (anti convulsant).
