Drug-Induced Liver Diseases in Children and Adolescents

Many drugs (now it’s known more than 1200) are associated with hepatic side effects. Children (especially newborns and infants) are unique population with specific characteristics of absorption, metabolism and elimination of drugs that can predispose to hepatotoxicity. Aim of this review is to estimate risk factors of hepatotoxicity related to the patients’ peculiarities and drug itself, also to describe some mechanisms and types of drug-induced liver disease (DILD) and beside this to offer some methods of the treatment and prevention of hepatotoxicity. In children the most often mentioned drugs caused DILD are antibiotics, psychotropics and NSAIDs and the main type of DILD is acute hepatitis with mortality of 10%. To conclude it’s highly important to monitor activity of hepatic enzymes (ALT, AST, AP) during treatment by potentially hepatotoxic drugs in patients from risk groups (early age, any liver disease, diabetes mellitus, obesity, poor nutritional status) in order to timely withdraw offending drug and prescribe hepatoprotectors or even perform liver transplantation