Is liver enzyme increase a common side effect of long term tigecycline?

Does long term tigecycline raise liver enzymes?

Tigecycline, a glycylcycline antibiotic, causes liver enzyme elevations in clinical trials at rates of 3.6% to 9.8% for ALT and AST respectively. These increases are usually mild and often reverse after stopping treatment. Data on purely long-term exposure beyond 14 days are limited, but existing reports show enzyme rises appearing around day 7–14 and persisting while on therapy.

What happens if treatment extends past two weeks?

Extended regimens exceeding 14 days, especially in patients with intra-abdominal infections or osteomyelitis, continue to show liver enzyme increases in monitoring reports. The pattern remains mild to moderate rather than severe hepatotoxicity. Patients who keep taking the drug past the recommended duration still experience the glecaprevir-like monitored rises.

How does it verus other antibiotics?

Tigecycline shows liver enzyme rates that match or fall below those of linezolid or vancomycin in head-to-phase trials. The pattern differs from beta-lactams or fluoroquinolones, which show higher rates of DILI in some datasets. Users who search for “tigecycline liver toxicity” often land on reports where enzyme changes are tracked rather than severe cases.

When does the patent expire?

Tigecycline’s composition-of-matter patent expired in 2010. Subsequent formulation and method-of-use patents held by Pfizer expired in 2018. Generic versions entered the US market in 2014 under brand name Tygacil.