title: Amiodarone hepatotoxicity.
abstract: Potential hepatotoxicity related to amiodarone therapy is often a concern when deciding whether to initiate or continue treatment with this medication. While mostly associated with long-term oral administration of the drug, toxicity has also been reported early during intravenous administration and months after discontinuation of therapy. In the majority of patients, it is discovered incidentally during routine testing of liver biochemistry and rarely do the hepatic effects develop into symptomatic liver injury or failure. Despite the widespread use of amiodarone, prospective clinical studies have been sparse and there has been little consensus among experts in the field regarding optimum monitoring for adverse effects in patients receiving this drug. In order to examine the current state of knowledge surrounding the incidence, pathogenesis and mechanism of liver effects associated with amiodarone, the existing literature was reviewed, with particular emphasis on clinical recommendations for monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Babatin
authors.forename: Samuel S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: P Timothy
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Pollak
mesh_terms: D000638:Amiodarone / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D000638:Amiodarone