Heparin-induced hepatotoxicity

Heparin-induced hepatotoxicity is welt described in the literature, but rar ely recognized clinically. Two cases were recently encountered. In the firs t case, elevated aminotransferase levels occurred after four days of hepari n therapy, In the second case, enzyme levels increased after only 8 h of he parin treatment. To the authors' knowledge, this short time interval betwee n the administration of heparin and liver enzyme elevations has not been de scribed. The objective of this report is to increase the clinical awareness of this interesting and under-recognized biochemical observation.