Some drugs cause fatty liver

There are many causes of fatty liver. Usually, more than 90% of fatty liver cases occur silently, chronically and over a long period of time. However, acute fatty liver cases progress rapidly and have a high risk of death. One of the causes of both acute and chronic fatty liver is the use of drugs. So which drugs are at risk of causing this disease?

Tetracycline: Oral tetracycline may cause vesicular fatty infiltration, which is usually of no clinical consequence. The occurrence and severity of fatty infiltration are closely related to the dose; caution should be exercised when administering intravenous tetracycline to pregnant women because of the increased risk of liver failure and death.

Patients need to follow the doctor's treatment instructions and avoid taking medication on their own.

Valproic acid: The anticonvulsant drug valproic acid can cause liver abnormalities after 2 to 4 months of use.

Amiodarone: Use of this agent is often associated with increased serum aminotransferase levels. Long-term therapy may cause macrovesicular fatty infiltration of the liver and pathologic changes similar to those seen in alcoholic hepatitis.

Glucocorticoids: High doses of glucocorticoids can cause fatty liver. This effect occurs mainly in children. The main cause of fatty liver is increased release of fatty acids from adipose tissue. Fatty liver is reversible when glucocorticoids are discontinued.

There are also many other drugs that can cause fatty liver such as methotrexate (an immunosuppressant used in cancer treatment), estrogen (commonly used in birth control), and perhexilin (a drug to treat angina).

Therefore, when a patient is forced to take one of the above drugs, it is necessary to comply with the doctor's treatment and have liver function monitored periodically.

According to Suckhoevadoisong