Taking Dimetap For Type B Flu. Noticed Elevation In Liver Enzymes. Side Effect Of Medicine?

Posted on Sat, 9 Feb 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 9 Feb 2013 Answered on

Fri, 1 Mar 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : my wife has had the flu type b and has been taking motrin and dimetap. Her alkaline phosphate was 156, her ast was 56 and her alt was 59. could this be from the flu and medications. otherwise she is very healthy. the blood test was taken when she was sick with the flu and while she was taking the meds.

Answered by Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (35 minutes later)

Hello and welcome to Healthcare Magic. Thanks for your query.

Motrin is a common analgesic / anti-inflammatory, which contains a medicine called Ibuprofen.
Dimetapp is a cold / nasal allergy medicine, which contains a combination of an anti-histamine (brompheniramine) and a de-congestant (phenylephrine).

Usually, only long-term or excessive use of these medication cause an elevation in liver enzymes, but this possibility cannot be ruled out.

Alos, when there is any severe infection, the fever itself can cause some muscle breakdown and can result in a transient elevation of liver enzymes.

So, when there is an acute infection, a mild and transient elevation of liver enzymes is not uncommon.

I would advise you to repeat the liver function tests after 2 weeks to see if if has normalized. In the meantime, it's better that she follows some dietary restrictions, avoids oily and fatty foods, takes plenty of fluids, and keeps any medication intake to a bare minimum.

Wish you all the best.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar