American Journal of Clinical Medicine Research, 2015, Vol. 3, No. 3, 37-41 Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajcmr/3/3/1 © Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/ajcmr-3-3-1 Liver Function Biomarker IN Patients on Anticoagulant Therapy at Usmanu Danfodiyo Unversity Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria Oduola Taofeeq 1,* , Bature Farida 1 , Ndakotsu Mohammed Alhaji 2 , Yakubu Abdulmumini 3 , Dallatu Mohammed Kabiru 1 , Mainasara Abdullahi Suleiman 4 1 Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Department of Chemical Pathology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria 2 Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, College of Health Sciences, Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, Nigeria 3 Department of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria 4 Department of Chemical Pathology, College of Health Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria *Corresponding author: oduolataofeeq@yahoo.com Received April 08, 2015; Revised June 01, 2015; Accepted June 24, 2015 Abstract Background: Drug induced hepatotoxicity have been known to be a common cause of liver failure. Drugs can either have a short-term or long-term adverse effect. The risk of side effect varies from drug to drug and from patient to patient. Most of the patients that need anticoagulant therapy are on the drugs for a long period, hence liver function may be impaired during the course of therapy this study was designed to investigate the effect of anticoagulant drugs on liver function. Methods: Thirty patients who have been on anticoagulant therapy between 1to 20 years (X5.8years), 30 patients that were yet to commence anticoagulant therapy but with the same clinical condition and 30 apparently healthy subjects were recruited for the study. Effect of duration of therapy on liver function were also assessed. Patients with background liver disease from any cause were excluded from the study. Five ml of blood were collected from each of the participant and liver function biomarkers estimated using standard techniques. Result: Therewere statistically significant increases (P<0.001) in values of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and gammaglutamyl transferase(GGT) in patients on anticoagulant therapy and patients that were not on anticoagulant therapy when compared with control subjects but the increases were within the reference range. There was no significant difference (P>0.001) in alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), total bilirubin (TB) and direct bilirubin (DB) values between the patients and the control group. Conclusion: The slight elevation in liver function biomarkers assessed in patients on anticoagulant therapy could not be linked to the effect of the drug because patients with the same clinical conditions that were not on anticoagulant therapy showed the same elevation of the biomarkers. We did not observe effect of duration of therapy on liver function. The liver function biomarkers assessed were within the reference range in both the patients on therapy and those not on therapy. From our findings, we did not observe hepatotoxicity among our subjects. Keywords: liver function, biomarkers, anticoagulant therapy, patients, adverse effect Cite This Article: Oduola Taofeeq, Bature Farida, Ndakotsu Mohammed Alhaji, Yakubu Abdulmumini, Dallatu Mohammed Kabiru, and Mainasara Abdullahi Suleiman, “Liver Function Biomarker IN Patients on Anticoagulant Therapy at Usmanu Danfodiyo Unversity Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.” American Journal of Clinical Medicine Research, vol. 3, no. 3 (2015): 37-41. doi: 10.12691/ajcmr-3-3-1. 1. Introduction The liver, located between the absorptive surface of the gastrointestinal tract and drugtargets throughout the body, is central to the metabolism of virtually every foreign substance. Most drugs and xenobiotics are lipophilic, enabling them to cross the membranes of intestinal cells. Drugs are rendered more hydrophilic by biochemical processes in the hepatocyte, yielding water-soluble products that are excreted in urine or bile [1]. This hepatic biotransformation involves oxidative pathways, primarily by way of the cytochrome P-450 enzyme system [2]. After further metabolic steps, which usually include conjugation to a glucuronide or a sulfate or glutathione, the hydrophilic product is exported into plasma or bile by transport proteins located on the hepatocyte membrane, and it is subsequently excreted by the kidney or the gastrointestinal tract [3,4,5]. Metabolism of drugs by this enzyme system leads sometimes to more active and toxic compounds which produce liver injury [6]. Liver disease is one of the acquired disorders that occur more frequently in several blood coagulation defects such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, stroke, congestive cardiac failure, artificial heart valve replacement and genetic or acquired hypercoagulability [5,7]. Anticoagulant drug is used to control and prevent thromboembolic disorders, the goal of anticoagulant