Isotretinoin – Liver Function Tests

Transcript

All patients need to take a blood test to establish a baseline for liver function, triglycerides or the fats in the blood. They may increase while on the medication. These levels must be closely monitored to ensure that pancreatitis is not occurring and to see if the dose of the isotretinoin needs to be adjusted. For women, it’s important that they take a pregnancy test either through a blood test or urine test. That’s because isotretinoin can harm a developing fetus. Women taking isotretinoin need to have monthly pregnancy tests to ensure that they are not pregnant while taking the medication.