Drugs&Liver Prelims
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Drugs and the Liver Drugs and the Liver A guide to drug handling in liver dysfunction Edited by Penny North-Lewis BPharm, MRPharmS, ClinDipPharm, MSc Lead Paediatric Liver Pharmacist, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK London • ChicagoM Published by the Pharmaceutical Press An imprint of RPS Publishing 1 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7JN, UK 100 South Atkinson Road, Suite 200, Grayslake, IL 60030-7820, USA © Pharmaceutical Press 2008 is a trade mark of RPS Publishing RPS Publishing is the publishing organisation of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain First published 2008 Typeset by Photoprint, Torquay, Devon Printed in Great Britain by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall ISBN 978 0 85369 710 7 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. Although the authors have made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this reference is correct, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors. The right of Penny North-Lewis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Contents Preface vii About the editor ix Contributors xi Acknowledgements xv Introduction xvii Part One: Understanding liver function 1 1 An introduction to the anatomy of the liver 3 2 Functions of the liver 23 3 Causes of liver disease and dysfunction 49 4 Assessing liver function 73 Part Two: Principles of drug use in liver disease 101 5 Pharmacokinetics of drugs in liver disease 103 6 Undesirable side effects 135 Part Three: Putting the theory into practice 145 7 Applying the principles – introduction 147 8 The aide mémoire 157 9 Scenario 1 – Choice of analgesic 171 10 Scenario 2 – Choice of antiemetic 211 11 Scenario 3 – Choice of anti-hyperlipidaemic agent 225 12 Scenario 4 – Choice of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) 257 13 Scenario 5 – Choice of contraceptive 275 Appendix 1: Detailed description of the patient cases 295 Appendix 2: Drugs in liver dysfunction blank aide mémoire form 305 Index 309 Preface It is well recognised that the majority of medicines pass through the liver on their journey around the body, but little is published on how differ- ent types and degrees of liver dysfunction affect the body’s ability to handle those medicines. This is because clinical studies are typically con- ducted in small numbers of patients with a specific liver disease, usually classified generically as ‘mild to moderate’. The results of these studies are often misguidedly extrapolated to all types of liver dysfunction. To exacerbate the problem, because of the scarcity of data, pharmaceutical companies frequently suggest dose reductions or the avoidance of a par- ticular medicine in liver dysfunction. These effects combine to leave patients with liver disease disenfranchised from medicine use by the lack of information available to assist prescribers. To make a judgement on medicine and choice of dose in an indi- vidual patient with a certain type of liver dysfunction, one must often return to first principles to make an educated guess. The aim of this book is therefore: • To enable the practitioner to assess liver function using biochemical markers (e.g. liver function tests), other tests, signs, symptoms and disease knowledge • To identify which pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters of a drug are likely to be affected by different types of liver disease • To consider the impact of a drug’s side effects on a patient with liver disease. This book is written by pharmacists and clinicians in the field of hepatology and is designed to assist practitioners to make these deci- sions. It is aimed primarily at clinical pharmacists, but may be of value to anyone making medicine choices in patients with liver impairment, as well as to students of pharmacokinetics. It is not aimed at academics and does not negate the need for further investigation, but it will enable practitioners to make pragmatic choices for their patients. Penny North-Lewis June 2007 About the editor Penny North-Lewis graduated from Nottingham University in 1989 with a BPharm(Hons). She went on to complete the London School of Pharmacy Clinical Diploma in 1992, and a Master of Science in Clinical Pharmacy at Brighton University in 1998. Penny has been working in the field of hepatology since 1993, when she became the first clinical pharmacist to work with the paediatric liver unit at King’s College Hospital, London. She remained there until 1998, and, after a short period working in adult medicine, moved to Leeds in 2000 to establish the clinical pharmacy service for the new Paediatric Liver and GI Unit at St James’s University Hospital, where she has remained ever since. Her role entails close liaison with the consultants, including participation in their daily ward rounds and attendance at out- patient clinics. She has also been closely involved with the development of guidelines for managing patients with liver disease. Penny has been involved with a wide range of clinical studies in children with liver disease. These include several that relate to pharma- cokinetics, in both liver disease and after liver transplantation. She has presented her research work and given lectures and workshops at national and international congresses, including the International Pediatric Transplant Association, the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy and the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group (NPPG) conferences. She is a founder member of the UK and Eire Liver Transplant Pharmacists Group, which was set up in 1994 to provide pharmacists in this field with the opportunity to learn, share ideas and help solve prob- lems. She is also on the committee of the NPPG. Contributors Michael Bowe, BPharm, MRPharmS, ClinDipPharm Lead GI and Liver Pharmacist (at the time of writing) Pharmacy Department, Freeman Hospital Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK Faye Croxen, BPharm, MRPharmS, ClinDipPharm Lead Adult Liver Pharmacist Pharmacy Department, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Leeds, UK Bridget Featherstone, BSc(Hons), MRPharmS, DipClinPharm, SP Lead Pharmacist Transplantation and Surgery Pharmacy Department, Cambridge University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge, UK Kylies Foot, BPharm(Hons) (University of South Australia), MRPharmS Liver Specialist Medicines Information Pharmacist (at the time of writing) Medicines Information Centre, Pharmacy Department Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Leeds, UK Andrew Holt, MBChB(Hons), MRCP Honorary Clinical Fellow in Hepatology Liver Research Laboratory, MRC Centre for Immune Regulation University of Birmingham, UK xii Contributors Catherine Hughes, BPharm(Hons), MRPharmS, DipClinPharm Lead Adult Liver Pharmacist (at the time of writing) Pharmacy Department, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Leeds, UK Trevor N Johnson, BPharm, MSc, PhD, MRPharmS, MCPP Senior Pharmacist, Pharmacy Department, Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Senior Scientist, Simcyp Limited Sheffield, UK Fionnuala Kennedy, BSc(Pharm), BA(Econ), MA(Healthcare Manag), MPSI Clinical Pharmacy Manager/Lead Liver Pharmacist Pharmacy Department, St Vincent’s University Hospital Dublin, Ireland Sarah Knighton, MPharm, MRPharmS, DipClinPharm Liver Pharmacy Team Leader Pharmacy Department, King’s College Hospital London, UK Saw Keng Lee, MPharm, MRPharmS, DipPharmPrac Senior Liver Pharmacist (at the time of writing) Pharmacy Department, King’s College Hospital London, UK Penny North-Lewis, BPharm, MRPharmS, DipClinPharm, MSc Lead Paediatric Liver Pharmacist Pharmacy Department, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Leeds, UK Aileen Parke, MRPharmS, SP, MSc Women and Children’s Pharmacy Team Leader Pharmacy Department King’s College Hospital London, UK Contributors xiii Amanda Smith, BPharm, MRPharmS, DipClinPharm Lead Pharmacist, Liver and Solid Organ Transplantation Pharmacy Department, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust Birmingham, UK Alison H Thomson, MSc, PhD, MRPharmS, MCPP Area Pharmacy Specialist, Western Infirmary and Senior Lecturer Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde Glasgow, UK Janet Tweed, BPharm, MRPharmS, DipClinPharm, Certificate in Pharmaceutical Information Management Medicines Information Service Development Manager Medicines Information Centre, Pharmacy Department Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Leeds, UK Sheetal (Tina) Vaghjiani, BSc(Hons)Pharm, MRPharmS, DipClinPharm Senior Pharmacist – Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Nutrition Pharmacy Department, Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust London, UK Acknowledgements This book could not have been written without the enormous commit- ment of my fellow collaborators in the UK and Eire Liver Transplant Pharmacists Group. My thanks go to every member for their role in ensuring this goal has been realised. I would especially like to extend my thanks to Katherine Davidson for reviewing chapters with a fresh eye, to Helen Whiteside for helping at the planning stage, to Janet Tweed (nee Darlington) for being unstintingly conscientious despite staffing shortages and getting married, to Catherine Hughes for being endlessly supportive,