RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Antipsychotics are drugs that can produce transient elevations of hepatic enzymes. Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic used in treatment-resistant schizophrenia and there is evidence that it can produce elevations of hepatic transaminases, expression of liver damage in a hepatocellular pattern. METHODS: Case report and non-systematic review of the relevant literature. CASE PRESENTATION: A 39-year-old woman with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia attended the emergency department of a general hospital for nausea, vomiting and jaundice that appeared after the initiation of clozapine. There was no clinical improvement during hospitalisation, and death occurred after 44 days. LITERATURE REVIEW: Clozapine can increase the liver enzyme levels transiently and asymptomatically; however, there are clinical criteria that recommend the withdrawal of the antipsychotic. CONCLUSIONS: This is the third case reported in the literature of a fatal outcome of clozapine-induced hepatotoxicity.
Asunto(s)
Antipsicóticos , Clozapina , Femenino , Humanos , Adulto , Clozapina/efectos adversos , Antipsicóticos/efectos adversos , Esquizofrenia Paranoide/tratamiento farmacológicoRESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Antipsychotics are drugs that can produce transient elevations of hepatic enzymes. Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic used in treatment-resistant schizophrenia and there is evidence that it can produce elevations of hepatic transaminases, expression of liver damage in a hepatocellular pattern. METHODS: Case report and non-systematic review of the relevant literature. CASE PRESENTATION: A 39-year-old woman with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia attended the emergency department of a general hospital for nausea, vomiting and jaundice that appeared after the initiation of clozapine. There was no clinical improvement during hospitalisation, and death occurred after 44 days. LITERATURE REVIEW: Clozapine can increase the liver enzyme levels transiently and asymptomatically; however, there are clinical criteria that recommend the withdrawal of the antipsychotic. CONCLUSIONS: This is the third case reported in the literature of a fatal outcome of clozapine-induced hepatotoxicity.