Liver disease induced by treatment of psoriasis with Chinese herbal medicine: An analysis of 34 cases

Objective To improve our understanding of liver diseases induced by treatment of psoriasis with Chinese herbal medicine by analyzing its clinical features. Methods Clinical data about 34 patients with drug liver disease induced by treatment of psoriasis with Chinese herbal medicine were retrospectively analyzed,including liver-damaging drugs,clinical features,complications and prognosis. Results The main clinical symptoms of the patients in this study were fatigue,anorexia,nausea,yellow urine.Laboratory tests showed that the alanine aminotransferase（ALT） and total bilirubin（TB） increased while the prothrombin activity decreased in these patients.Liver diseases induced by treatment of psoriasis with traditional Chinese medicine included hepatitis（67.6%）,cirrhosis（26.5%） and liver failure（5.9%）.The common complications were ascites,electrolyte imbalance,primary peritonitis,pleural effusion,hepatic encephalopathy,upper gastrointestinal bleeding.The mortality of patients in this study was 2.9%. Conclusion Liver diseases induced by treatment of psoriasis with Chinese herbal medicine are not uncommon.Long-term use of Chinese herbal medicine can lead to cirrhosis,liver failure and even death.Liver function should be closely monitored during treatment.