Abnormal ALT levels, ICU admission linked to liver injury in patients receiving IV tigecycline

China: Abnormal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) at baseline, ICU admission, and treatment duration were all independently linked with an elevated risk of liver damage in hospitalized patients receiving IV tigecycline, says an article published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Tigecycline exhibits promise in vitro action against antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria as well as a variety of gram-positive pathogens. It's also effective in treating skin and soft tissue infections, complex intra-abdominal infections, and community-acquired pneumonia. Medication-induced liver damage (DILI) is a frequent adverse drug response that may be detected by abnormal liver function testing. Antibiotics contribute significantly to the overall DILI occurrences recorded across all medication groups. Zhenwei Yu and colleagues undertook this multicenter retrospective analysis to assess the frequency, clinical characteristics, and risk factors for tigecycline-induced liver damage, a kind of drug-induced liver injury.

Inpatients who received intravenous tigecycline for 7 days were included in the study. To determine the possibility of DILIs, patient information was gathered. The severity and pattern of tigecycline DILI were assessed. The independent risk variables linked with tigecycline DILI were identified using a multivariable logistic regression model.

The key findings of this study were as follows:

1. This study comprised 397 participants out of a total of 986 individuals identified.

2. The incidence of tigecycline DILI was 10.3%.

3. The most prevalent kind of tigecycline DILI was cholestatic, with most instances exhibiting moderate severity.

4. Treatment time (in weeks) and abnormal baseline alanine aminotransferase levels were independent predictors for tigecycline DILI.

In conclusion, this is the first retrospective, multicenter investigation of tigecycline DILI prevalence, clinical characteristics, and risk variables. The frequency of tigecycline DILI in this research group was 10.3 percent, with cholestatic being the most prevalent form. The presence of abnormal baseline ALT levels, ICU hospitalizations, and treatment duration was discovered to be independent risk factors for tigecycline DILI. These discoveries might help tigecycline's therapeutic use.

Reference: Yu Z, Zhao Y, Jin J, Zhu J, Yu L, Han G. Prevalence and risk factors of tigecycline-induced liver injury: A multicenter retrospective study. Int J Infect Dis. Published online April 14, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2022.04.024