Which Drugs Have The Potential To Raise Liver Enzymes?

3.5 rating based on 155 ratings

Elevated liver enzymes can be caused by various factors, including medications, fatty liver disease, and other conditions. Common causes include cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins) and acetaminophen, over-the-counter pain medications like Tylenol (acetaminophen), and certain antibiotics. Fatty liver disease, including alcohol-related and autoimmune hepatitis, celiac disease, Epstein-Barr virus infection, and liver cancer.

Medications like Tylenol and Aleve are hepatotoxic, raising liver enzymes and damaging the liver over time. Asymptomatic elevation of hepatic enzymes (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST)), such as statins, can be caused by various pharmacological agents, including anesthetics, anticancer drugs, antibiotics, and antituberculosis.

Another common cause of elevated liver enzymes is fatty liver disease, which can be caused by various factors. Common causes include amiodarone, anabolic steroids, birth control pills, chlorpromazine, erythromycin, halothane (anesthesia), methyldopa, and isoniazid.

Additionally, many medications can cause increases in AST, such as acetaminophen, NSAIDs, ACE inhibitors, nicotinic acid, INH, sulfonamides, erythromycin, and others. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Aleve, aspirin, and Motrin can also cause liver damage. It is essential for healthcare professionals to review patients’ medicines and symptoms and sometimes prescribe additional medications to prevent liver damage.

Useful Articles on the Topic
ArticleDescriptionSite
Elevated liver enzymes CausesNonprescription analgesics, in particular acetaminophen (Tylenol, others). · Certain prescription medications, including statins, which are utilized for the management of…www.mayoclinic.org
14 Medications That May Raise Your Risk of Liver DamageMedications such as Tylenol and Aleve have the potential to cause hepatotoxicity, which can lead to an elevation in liver enzymes and subsequent liver damage over time. Please refer to the list of medications to be avoided.www.goodrx.com
Liver Injury Caused by DrugsA considerable number of medications, including statins, are known to frequently result in the asymptomatic elevation of hepatic enzymes, such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and others.www.msdmanuals.com

📹 Medication Causes Of High Liver Enzymes

Are you seeing your liver enzymes go up, up, up? Maybe you recently started a new medication, and you’re looking at …


How do you know if your liver is damaged from medication?

You will have blood tests to check liver function. Liver enzymes will be higher if you have the condition.

Your provider will do a physical exam to check for an enlarged liver and abdominal tenderness in the right upper part of the belly area. A rash or fever may be part of some drug reactions that affect the liver.

The only specific treatment for most cases of liver damage caused by taking a drug is to stop taking the drug that caused the problem.

However, if you took high doses of acetaminophen, you should get treated for liver injury in the emergency department or other acute treatment setting as soon as possible as there is a specific antidote for acetaminophen poisoning.

What is the best drink to flush your liver?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

What is the best drink to flush your liver?

11 Drinks to Help Your Liver DetoxLemon Water. Ginger and Lemon Drink. Grapefruit Juice. Tumeric Tea. Green Tea. Chamomile Tea. Oat Tea. Jujube Fruit Juice.

More and more people have been consuming drinks for liver detox.

Your liver plays a very vital role in keeping you healthy and alive. It’s essentially responsible for cleaning and filtering your blood from the digestive tract before flowing to the rest of the body. It also metabolizes drugs and detoxifies chemicals. More than that, your lover secretes bile that helps digest fat and carry waste away.

Those are just some of its many functions. That’s why it’s crucial to keep it in tip-top shape. Cleansing and detoxifying can help protect it from disease and keep it healthy.

How can I detox my liver in 7 days?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

How can I detox my liver in 7 days?

  • Healthy Diet: Consume a diet rich in liver-cleansing foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Avoid processed foods and sugary snacks.
  • Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to support liver function and flush out toxins from the body.
  • Limit Alcohol and Caffeine: Reduce alcohol intake and limit caffeine consumption, as it can burden and interfere with the liver detox processes.
  • Herbal Supplements: Incorporate liver-supporting herbs and supplements like milk thistle, dandelion root, and turmeric into your routine, under the healthcare professional guidance.
  • Manage Stress: Practice stress-reducing techniques such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises, as chronic stress can impact liver health.

What is the Fastest Way to Detoxify And Cleanse the Liver?. The fastest way to detoxify and cleanse the liver is to:

  • Adopt a short-term liver cleanse diet
  • Drink plenty of water
  • Det adequate sleep
  • avoid processed foods
What are the top 10 hepatotoxic drugs?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

What are the top 10 hepatotoxic drugs?

Idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is an underreported and underestimated adverse drug reaction. A website called LiverTox has recently made available information on the documented hepatotoxicity of drugs. According to a critical analysis of the hepatotoxicity of drugs in LiverTox, 53 of drugs had at least one case report of convincing reports of liver injury. Only 48 drugs had more than 50 case reports of DILI. Amoxicillin-clavulanate is the most commonly implicated agent leading to DILI in the prospective series. In a recent prospective study, liver injury due to amoxicillin-clavulanate occurred in approximately one out of 2300 users. Drugs with the highest risk of DILI in this study were azathioprine and infliximab.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a frequent differential diagnosis in patients with acute liver injury without obvious etiology. However, data on hepatotoxicity is not always easily accessible. All drugs approved by regulatory authorities are accompanied by package inserts, called “patient information” leaflets in Europe and “prescribing information” in the United States. However, this information is often insufficient and even misleading. There is also a substantial discrepancy in the official package inserts and liver disease labeling between Europe and the United States. The documentation of the hepatotoxicity of drugs in the medical literature is very variable.

What medicine makes your liver enzymes high?

Common causes of elevated liver enzymes include: Nonprescription pain medicines, particularly acetaminophen (Tylenol, others). Certain prescription medicines, including statins, which are used to control cholesterol. Drinking alcohol.

Can your liver recover from high liver enzymes?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

Can your liver recover from high liver enzymes?

Elevated liver enzymes are a symptom of many different conditions rather than a condition themselves. People should seek help if they exhibit symptoms of fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, or other conditions listed above.

Liver enzyme levels may return to normal quickly if a person follows the doctor’s recommended treatment plan for the underlying condition.

A blood test can show elevated liver enzymes. The blood test checks for raised levels of AST and ALT, which are enzymes that the liver releases when it becomes inflamed or damaged.

If a doctor finds that a person has raised AST or ALT levels, they are likely to carry out further tests to determine the underlying cause.

Why is my ALT high but everything else normal?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

Why is my ALT high but everything else normal?

High levels of ALT in your blood may be a sign of a liver injury or disease. Some types of liver disease cause high ALT levels before you have symptoms of the disease. So, an ALT blood test may help diagnose certain liver diseases early.

What is an ALT Blood Test?. An ALT test measures the amount of ALT in your blood. This test is commonly used to help diagnose liver damage or disease.

ALT (alanine transaminase) is an enzyme, a protein that speeds up certain chemical reactions in your body. It is found mainly in your liver. Usually, you will have low levels of ALT in your blood. But when liver cells are damaged, they release ALT into the bloodstream. High levels of ALT in your blood may be a sign of a liver injury or disease. Some types of liver disease cause high ALT levels even before you have symptoms of the disease. So, an ALT blood test may help diagnose certain liver diseases early, when they may be easier to treat.

An ALT test is usually ordered as part of a group of liver function tests.

What are the 10 worst medications for your liver?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

What are the 10 worst medications for your liver?

Prescription drugs:Statins. Antibiotics like amoxicillin-clavulanate or erythromycin. Arthritis drugs like methotrexate or azathioprine. Antifungal drugs. Niacin. Steroids. Allopurinol for gout. Antiviral drugs for HIV infection.

Toxic liver disease, or drug-induced liver injury (DILI), is damage to your liver. It’s also called hepatotoxicity or toxic hepatitis. It can cause serious symptoms or liver damage if you don’t get help.

Medications, herbal supplements, chemicals, solvents, and alcohol are all possible causes of hepatotoxicity.

Your liver filters everything that goes into your body. It clears out alcohol, drugs, and chemicals from your blood. Then it processes the unwanted bits so you can flush them out through your urine or bile.

What is the most common drug that can cause liver damage?

NSAIDs, like diclofenac Many people take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to help relieve pain, inflammation, and fever. Some are available OTC, but others — like oral diclofenac (Cataflam) — are available by prescription only. Diclofenac is one of the most likely NSAIDs to cause liver injury.

Do drugs cause high liver enzymes?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

Do drugs cause high liver enzymes?

Many drugs can affect the way the liver functions, damage the liver, or do both. (See also Drugs and the Liver.)

Some drugs, such as statins (used to treat high cholesterol), can increase the levels of liver enzymes and cause liver damage (usually minor) but no symptoms. However, doctors may continue to prescribe statins for people with chronic liver diseases (for example, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and NASH cirrhosis ), because:

Statins pose no additional risks for these people than for those with no liver disease.

There are benefits of statin use for treatment of high cholesterol in people with NAFLD and NASH.

What is an alarming liver enzyme?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

What is an alarming liver enzyme?

Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) are two liver enzymes measured in a blood test to check the health of your liver. High AST and ALT levels are a general sign of a liver problem.

Based on which enzyme is elevated—or if both are elevated—healthcare providers can make an educated guess as to the underlying cause of the liver problem and order additional tests. This may help diagnose diseases ranging from hepatitis and cirrhosis to liver cancer and liver failure.

When ALT and AST Levels Are Tested. ALT and AST are part of a comprehensive panel of tests known as a liver function test (LFT). An LFT may be ordered:

  • If you have symptoms of liver disease, including jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), dark urine, pale stools, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue
  • To monitor the progression of a liver disease
  • To determine when drug treatments should be started
  • To check your response to treatment

📹 High Liver Enzymes (ALT & AST) – What Do They Mean? – Dr.Berg

In this video, Dr. Berg talks about liver enzymes. There are two main liver enzymes; the AST and ALT. As the liver gets damaged, …


Which Drugs Have The Potential To Raise Liver Enzymes?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

Elle Pierson

Hi, I’m Elle Pierson, RN, MBA—a passionate Healthcare Consultant dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations to achieve better health outcomes. As a TEDx Speaker, Author, and Mentor, I bring my expertise in medicine and healthcare management to help others navigate complex systems with confidence. My mission is to inspire change and create meaningful solutions in the world of healthcare. Thank you for joining me on this journey!

Education: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Executive MBA from Texas Woman’s University.
Email: [email protected]

About me

Add comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Dehydration Level Calculator

Select dehydration symptoms
Choose the symptoms you are experiencing to assess your dehydration level.

Tip of the day!

Pin It on Pinterest

We use cookies in order to give you the best possible experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies.
Accept
Privacy Policy