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Complications

By Mayo Clinic staff

Like other types of hepatitis, toxic hepatitis can cause serious complications including:

  • Increased blood pressure in the portal vein. Blood from your intestine, spleen and pancreas enters your liver through a large blood vessel called the portal vein. If damaged liver tissue blocks normal circulation through the liver, the blood backs up, leading to increased pressure within this vein (portal hypertension). This, in turn, causes blood to back up into other blood vessels in your stomach, esophagus and lower intestine.
  • Enlarged veins (varices). When circulation through the portal vein is blocked, blood may back up into other blood vessels in the stomach, esophagus and lower intestinal tract. These blood vessels are thin-walled and, because they're filled with more blood than they're meant to carry, are likely to leak. Massive bleeding in the upper stomach or esophagus from these blood vessels is a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate medical care.
  • Jaundice. This occurs when your liver isn't able to remove bilirubin — the residue of old red blood cells — from your blood. Eventually, bilirubin builds up and is deposited in your skin and the whites of your eyes, causing a yellow color.
  • Cirrhosis. This serious condition — irreversible scarring of the liver — is a leading cause of death in Americans ages 45 to 54. Cirrhosis frequently leads to liver failure, which occurs when the liver is no longer able to function.
Preparing for your appointment Risk factors
References
  1. Dienstag JL. Toxic and drug-induced hepatitis. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=4. Accessed Nov. 14, 2008.
  2. Lewis JH. Liver disease caused by anesthetics, toxins, and herbal preparations. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastroinstestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/111481204-2/0/1389/0.html. Accessed Nov. 11, 2008.
  3. Friedman LS. Liver, biliary tract, & pancreas disorders. In: McPhee SJ, et al. Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment 2009. 48th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=1. Accessed Nov. 11, 2008.
  4. Brown JA. Haz-Map: Information on hazardous chemicals and occupational disease. National Institutes of Health. http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov. Accessed Nov. 12, 2008.
  5. Fountain FF. Isoniazid hepatotoxicity associated with treatment of latent tuberculosis infection: A 7-year evaluation from a public health tuberculosis clinic. Chest. 2005;128:116.
  6. Fontana RJ. Acute liver failure including acetaminophen overdose. Medical Clinics of North America. 2008;92:761.
  7. Fontana RJ. Acute liver failure due to drugs. Seminars in Liver Disease. 2008;28:175.
  8. Watkins PB. Aminotransferase elevations in healthy adults receiving 4 grams of acetaminophen daily. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2006;296:87.
  9. NCI drug dictionary. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/drugdictionary. Accessed Nov. 14, 2008.
  10. Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. Oct. 28, 2008.

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Dec. 17, 2008

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