17 drugs that destroy the liver have been named

Scientists have named the top 17 medications that hit the liver the hardest. The study was published in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine, writes
MK.

A team of US researchers from various universities and the Department of Veterans Affairs analyzed electronic health record data from nearly 8 million people provided by the US Veterans Health Administration, collected from 2000 to 2021. There was no disease liver or biliary tract in study participants when they started taking any of the 194 study medications. These drugs were selected because each had more than four published reports of liver toxicity associated with their use.

All hospitalizations of study participants for acute liver failure were investigated. Among the study population, 1,739 were hospitalized as such, with a wide range of events depending on the medications taken. The most hepatotoxic drugs were those that caused 10 hospitalizations or more per 10 thousand person-years, and those that caused 5 to 9.9 hospitalizations were considered moderately toxic.

One of the drugs included in this group was metronidazole, a popular antimicrobial drug used to treat diseases of the reproductive or gastrointestinal system, as well as some dermatological diseases. Also in the group of drugs with high hepatotoxicity is stavudine (antiviral); erlotinib (antitumor); lenalidomide or thalidomide (antitumor); chlorpromazine (antipsychotic); prochlorperazine (antipsychotic) and isoniazid (anti-tuberculosis).

The researchers found eight drugs that were classified as the most hepatotoxic based on the number of published case reports, but in fact should be among the most liver toxic, with an incidence of less than one severe case of liver damage per 10,000 person-years. For example, statins, often used for high cholesterol, fall into this group. In addition, in the moxifloxacin group; azathioprine; levofloxacin (antibiotic); clarithromycin; ketoconazole (antifungal); fluconazole (antifungal); captopril (for various cardiovascular diseases); amoxicillin-clavulanate (antibiotic); sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (antibiotic); ciprofloxacin (an antibiotic).

Unsplash photo