Treatment of hepatotoxicity
The main goal of treating hepatotoxicity is catching it early on before any symptoms occur. This helps in controlling liver damage and ensuring that recovery is complete. This can only be detected by routine screening using liver function tests in all patients who may develop hepatotoxicity as a result of a drug they are on.
Some medical treatments may be useful in managing the condition including:
- Identifying and stopping or replacing the medication that caused the hepatotoxicity in the first place.
- Specific therapy towards certain medications: Some medications have antidotes to their action, which can help save as much as possible of the liver such as N- acetylcysteine for paracetamol.
- Admission to the intensive care unit and caring for problems of coagulation and protein deficiency.
- Using corticosteroids: The main advantage of corticosteroids is that they can limit inflammation. Inflammation can cause additional damage to the one caused by the drug.
