Liver function tests during treatment with antipsychotic drugs: a case series of 23 patients

Atypical antipsychotics represent a new class of medication for the treatment of schizophrenia and their use is associated with a reduction of neurological side effects. This article reports the result of the systematic clinical and biological supervision of hepatic enzymes on 23 schizophrenic inpatients treated by atypical antipsychotic during 2 weeks at Days 1 (D1), 7 (D7), and 14 (D14) in a naturalistic study during 6 months. The drug administrated was limited to four medications—risperidone, amisulpride, olanzapine, and clozapine—but other psychotropic agents were prescribed. Six cases of biological cytolytic hepatitis were observed. Due to the numerous risk factors and the frequency of “routine” conditions, careful supervision of the hepatic function is needed to prevent this kind of side effect.