MONDAY, March 19 (HealthDay News) -- About 4 percent of new-onset jaundice cases are due to drug-induced liver injury, mostly caused by acetaminophen, researchers report in the March issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology. Less than 1 percent of cases are due to idiosyncratic drugs, and they are not associated with mortality at six weeks.
Naga Chalasani, M.D., and colleagues from Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis retrospectively studied 732 adult cases of new-onset jaundice that occurred at one hospital over a five-year period. New-onset jaundice was defined as a total serum bilirubin greater than 3 mg/dL in patients whose prior total bilirubin was not greater than 3 mg/dL.
The researchers found that the leading causes of new-onset jaundice were decompensation of pre-existing liver disease (37 percent of cases), sepsis or altered hemodynamic state leading to presumed ischemic liver injury (22 percent), acute liver disease from nonalcoholic causes (13 percent), and acute viral hepatitis (9 percent). Acute drug-induced liver injury was found in 4 percent of patients, most of which were due to acetaminophen toxicity. Only 0.7 percent of patients had idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury.
"Idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury appears to be a rare cause of new-onset jaundice in a community hospital setting," Chalasani and colleagues conclude.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
