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Updated: Nov 11, 2025

Human Liver Microphysiological System for Assessing Drug-Induced Liver Toxicity In Vitro
Published on: January 31, 2022
Liver and kidney function in patients with Covid-19 treated with remdesivir
Sylvia A van Laar1, Mark G J de Boer2, Kim B Gombert-Handoko1
1Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Toxicology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
For the treatment of Covid-19 patients with remdesivir, poor renal and liver function were both exclusion criteria in randomized clinical trials and contraindication for treatment. Also, nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity are reported as adverse events. We retrospectively reviewed renal and liver functions of Covid-19 103 patients who received remdesivir in the 15 days after treatment initiation. Approximately 20% of the patient population met randomized clinical trial exclusion criteria. In total, 11% of the patients had a decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate >10 mL/min/1.73m2 . Also, 25 and 35% had increased alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase levels, respectively. However, serious adverse events were limited. Therefore, based on these preliminary results, contraindications based on kidney and liver function should not be absolute for remdesivir treatment in patients with Covid-19 if these functions are monitored regularly. A larger patient cohort is warranted to confirm our results.
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