Patients with drug-induced hepatocellular jaundice have 11.7% chance of progressing to death or transplantation. Amoxicillin-clavulanate stands out as the most common drug related to DILI.
A chronic adverse reaction may occur in some instances of drug-induced liver injury (DILI), even despite drug cessation. In our study, we obtained records from a Spanish registry and evaluated cases of DILI with biochemical evidence of long-term damage. Chronic outcome was defined as a persistent biochemical abnormality of hepatocellular pattern of damage more than 3 months after drug withdrawal or more than 6 months after cholestatic/mixed damage. Data on 28 patients with a chronic clinical evolution (mean follow-up 20 months) between November 1995 and October 2005 were retrieved (18 female; overall mean age 55 yr) and accounted for 5.7% of total idiosyncratic DILI cases (n ؍ 493) submitted to the registry. The main drug classes were cardiovascular and central nervous system (28.5% and 25%, respectively), which, in contrast, represented only 9.8% and 13%, respectively, of all DILI cases. The most frequent causative drugs were amoxicillin-clavulanate (4 of 69 cases), bentazepam (3 of 7 cases), atorvastatin (2 of 7 cases), and captopril (2 of 5 cases). Patients with cholestatic/mixed injury (18 of 194 cases [9%]) were more prone to chronicity than patients with hepatocellular injury (10 of 240 cases; P < .031). In the case of chronic hepatocellular injury, 3 patients progressed to cirrhosis and 2 to chronic hepatitis. In the cholestatic/mixed group, liver biopsy indicated cirrhosis in 1 patient and ductal lesions in 3 patients. In conclusion, cholestatic/mixed type of damage is more prone to become chronic while, in the hepatocellular pattern, the severity is greater. Cardiovascular and central nervous system drugs are the main groups leading to chronic liver damage. (HEPATOLOGY 2006;44:
1581-1588.)Abbreviations: DILI, drug-induced liver injury;
Zolpidem is an imidazopyridine which differs in structure from the benzodiazepines and zopiclone. It is a strong sedative with only minor anxiolytic, myorelaxant and anticonvulsant properties, and has been shown to be effective in inducing and maintaining sleep in adults. The available evidence suggests that zolpidem produces no rebound or withdrawal effects, and patients have experienced good daytime alertness. Zolpidem 10mg in non-elderly and a reduced dose of 5mg in elderly individuals are clinically effective. In humans, the major metabolic routes include oxidation and hydroxylation; none of the metabolites appears to be pharmacologically active. The pharmacological activity of zolpidem results from selective binding to the central benzodiazepine receptors of the omega 1 subtype. Zolpidem is approximately 92% bound to plasma proteins; absolute bio-availability of zolpidem is about 70%. After single 20mg oral doses, typical values of pharmacokinetic variables for zolpidem in humans are: a peak plasma concentration of 192 to 324 micrograms/L occurring 0.75 to 2.6 hours postdose; a terminal elimination half-line of 1.5 to 3.2 hours; and total clearance of 0.24 to 0.27 ml/min/kg. Zolpidem pharmacokinetics are unchanged during multiple-dose treatment. Zolpidem pharmacokinetics are not significantly influenced by gender. Clearance of zolpidem in children is 3 times higher than in young adults, and is lower in very elderly people. There are no significant differences in the pharmacokinetic parameters between various racial groups. Dosage reduction appears to be prudent in patients with renal disease, and caution should be exercised when prescribing zolpidem to elderly patients with hepatic impairment. Coadministration of haloperidol, cimetidine, ranitidine, chlorpromazine, warfarin, digoxin or flumazenil do not alter the pharmacokinetics of zolpidem; flumazenil predictably antagonises the hypnotic effects of zolpidem. Alertness tends to be reduced when cimetidine is combined with zolpidem. Volunteers treated with imipramine plus zolpidem developed anterograde amnesia.
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