MINOCYCLINE-INDUCED LIVER-INJURY

Tetracycliue may cause fatty infiltration of the liver; more recently, it has been reported to cause intrahepatic cholestasis with bile duct depletion, However, minocycline, a derivative of tetracycline, is not generally recognized to be hepatotoxic. We report a series of six cas es of presumed minocycline-induced liver injury; five of these patient s had acute hepatitic illness, whereas one had a more prolonged course with histological evidence of chronic hepatitis, In addition, three p atients demonstrated abnormal anti-nuclear antibody levels, and one ha d positive double-stranded DNA.