Hospital Admissions for Drug-Induced Liver Injury: Clinical Features, Therapy, and Outcomes

Successful corticosteroid therapy for severe liver injury secondary to herbal traditional Chinese medicine, Mega Defends X, assessed for causality by the updated RUCAM: A case report

RATIONALE

In China, herbal traditional Chinese medicine products are readily obtained without any requirement of prescription and widely used in real life, thereby increasing the incidence of their related herb-induced liver injury (HILI). However, the diagnosis of HILI is still challenging because its clinical manifestations are variable due to lack of any specific biomarkers. Misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment may result in the progression of HILI.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 55-year-old female patient was admitted to the hospital due to progressive jaundice.

DIAGNOSES

The diagnoses of HILI secondary to Mega Defends X, an herbal traditional Chinese medicine product, for which the score was 9 based on the updated Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method of 2016.

INTERVENTIONS

The patient received corticosteroid with a stepwise dosage reduction.

OUTCOMES

The liver injury significantly improved by corticosteroid treatment.

LESSONS

Corticosteroids should be potentially effective and safe in patients with severe HILI.

Clinical Features and Risk Factors for Drug-Induced Liver Injury: A Retrospective Study From China

PURPOSE

With the prolongation of human life expectancy and the outbreak of COVID-19, antineoplastic agents, anti-infective drugs, and cardiovascular system drugs have been widely applied, resulting in a growing incidence of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) year by year. This study aimed to investigate signals, clinical characteristics, and risk factors in patients with liver injury.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted on inpatients clinically diagnosed with DILI from 2019 to 2021 in one tertiary hospital in mainland China. The hepatic biochemical indices, clinical manifestations and suspected drugs of the patients were counted. We determined causality assessed by the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method in patients that the biochemistry met the diagnostic criteria recommended by the International Serious Adverse Events Consortium and compared them with contemporaneous patients diagnosed as DILI but with hepatic biochemical abnormalities only to identify the injure types and risk factors for DILI.

FINDINGS

A total of 1167 patients from 2639 initial participants with DILI were included. According to the injured target cells, it can be divided into hepatocellular injury type 351 cases (30.08%), cholestatic injury type 97 cases (8.31%), mixed injury type 27 cases (2.31%), and biochemical abnormal only type 692 cases (59.30%). It involved 1738 cases of suspected drugs, 349 drugs, and the top 3 drug categories were antineoplastic agents, anti-infectives, and traditional Chinese medicines, with Cyclophosphamide, Atorvastatin, and Liuzasulfapyridine as the top 3 in order of ranking. The main symptoms of patients were darker urine, decreased appetite, and yellow sclera. The overall prognosis of patients with DILI was favorable, with 280 recovered cases (23.99%), 691 improved cases (59.21%), 189 not improved cases (16.20%), and 7 deaths (0.60%). There were significant differences in gender, age, malignancy, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, gamma-glutamyltransferase, albumin, international normalized ratio, and prognosis among patients with different injury types (P < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that female (odds ratio [OR] = 1.897, P < 0.001), alcohol use (OR = 1.905, P = 0.001), malignancy (OR = 0.417, P < 0.001), and pregnancy (OR = 0.201, P = 0.011) were independent factors influencing DILI.

IMPLICATIONS

For most patients with liver injury, the manifestations are mild elevation of liver biochemistry without other symptoms (biochemical abnormal only type). The rest of the patients are predominantly of the hepatocellular injury type. Female and alcohol abuse patients are the risk factors of DILI, reminding clinicians to strengthen education on safe drug use, give individualized treatment, and regularly monitor liver function indexes in the patients.

Intrahepatic infiltration of activated CD8+ T cells and mononuclear phagocyte is associated with idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury

Background

Idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is caused by the interplay among drugs, their metabolites, and the host immune response. The characterization of infiltrated immune cells in the liver may improve the understanding of the pathogenesis of idiosyncratic DILI. This study investigated the phenotypes and clinical implications of liver-infiltrating immune cells in idiosyncratic DILI.

Methods

From January 2017 to June 2021, 53 patients with idiosyncratic DILI who underwent liver biopsy were prospectively enrolled in this study. Immunohistochemical staining and flow cytometry analyses were performed on the biopsy specimens. Serum levels of CXC chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) and soluble CD163 were measured. A multivariate cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate predictors of DILI resolution within 30 days.

Results

The numbers of intrahepatic T cells and mononuclear phagocytes were positively correlated with serum levels of total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and the model of end-stage liver disease score. The frequency of activated CD8+ T cells among liver-infiltrating CD8+ T cells in DILI livers was higher than that in healthy livers. Notably, the percentages of activated intrahepatic CD8+ T cells and mononuclear phagocytes in DILI livers showed a positive correlation with ALT. Additionally, serum CXCL10 level was positively correlated with intrahepatic T cell infiltration and ALT, and soluble CD163 level was positively correlated with intrahepatic mononuclear phagocyte infiltration and ALT. Thirty-six patients (70.6%) were treated with steroids. In multivariate analysis, total bilirubin and steroid use independently influenced DILI resolution within 30 days.

Conclusions

Activated CD8+ T cells and mononuclear phagocyte are associated with liver injury caused by drugs. Therefore, we suggest that steroids are a potential treatment option for idiosyncratic DILI.

Diagnostic value of a liver biopsy in patients with an acute liver failure or acute liver injury

OBJECTIVES

The diagnostic value of liver biopsy in patients with acute liver injury or acute liver failure (ALI/ALF) was investigated.

METHODS

Data from the initial event and follow-up visits were retrospectively analyzed in all patients with a liver biopsy during ALI/ALF from January 2010 to May 2020 at the University Hospital Frankfurt, Germany.

RESULTS

The cohort comprised 66 patients. Post-biopsy hemorrhage occurred in 2 of 66 but was self-limited. In five patients suspected liver involvement by a systemic extrahepatic disease was confirmed and excluded in eight patients. In 4 of 66 patients, the etiology of ALI/ALF remained unknown. Liver biopsy hinted at the etiology of ALI/ALF in 2 of 6 patients with rare diagnoses (hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: 2 of 66; ischemic liver injury: 1 of 66, ALI/ALF due to a systemic infection: 3 of 66). In 31 of 34 patients with drug-induced liver injury (DILI), histopathology suggested DILI; in further 2 patients, DILI was among the differential diagnoses. However, DILI was also the histopathologically preferred diagnosis in 12 of 15 patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Only in 3 of 15 patients, histopathology was considered compatible with AIH. Serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) and autoantibodies during ALI/ALF were higher in patients with AIH than with DILI. Patients with AIH did not show a more pronounced biochemical response to corticosteroids in the first 10 days of treatment than patients with DILI.

CONCLUSIONS

Liver biopsy is indispensable when liver involvement by an extrahepatic disease is suspected. To distinguish AIH from DILI in ALI/ALF, serum IgG, and autoantibodies seem more helpful than liver biopsy; long-term follow-up is needed in these patients.

Alteration of Bile Acids and Omega-6 PUFAs Are Correlated With the Progression and Prognosis of Drug-Induced Liver Injury

Background & Aims

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is one of the leading causes of liver failure with some of the patients progressed to chronic DILI. The mechanisms underlying the severity and chronicity of DILI are poorly elucidated and the biomarkers are limited. Metabolites and gut microbiota played a crucial role in the development of various liver diseases. Herein, a systematic analysis of serum metabolites and gut microbiota was performed in DILI patients, aiming to identify metabolites correlated with the progression and clinical prognosis of DILI.

Methods

Various serum metabolites were quantitated using a metabolite array technology in this prospective study. Gut microbiome compositions and the expression profiles of liver genes were determined in patients with DILI and healthy controls.

Results

Metabolomic analysis revealed that bile acids (BAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were closely related to DILI severity and chronicity respectively. The ratios of serum primary/secondary BAs and omega-6/omega-3 PUFAs were elevated in DILI patients. A model established by adrenic acid (AdA) and aspartic acid (Asp) exerts good performance for predicting the chronicity of DLIL. Hepatic transcriptome revealed enhanced expression of PUFA peroxidation and supressed expression of BA synthesis related genes in DILI patients. In addition, Lactic acid bacteria and BA converting bacteria were increased in gut of DILI patients. Besides, elevated serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) was observed in DILI patients.

Conclusion

BAs and PUFAs could be potent markers for the severity and chronicity of DILI respectively. The panel of AdA and Asp could be ideal predictive model for the risk of chronicity at the acute stage of DILI. Gut microbiota might act as a negative feedback mechanism to maintain the homeostasis of BAs and PUFAs via FGF19 signalling and PUFA saturation, respectively. Our study revealed novel biomarkers for severe and chronic DILI and provided new therapeutic targets for DILI.

Corticosteroid plus glycyrrhizin therapy for chronic drug- or herb-induced liver injury achieves biochemical and histological improvements: a randomised open-label trial

BACKGROUND

Treatment of chronic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) or herb-induced liver injury(HILI) is an important and unresolved challenge. There is no consensus regarding the indications for corticosteroids for chronic DILI/HILI.

AIMS

To investigate the efficacy and safety of corticosteroid plus glycyrrhizin for patients with chronic DILI/HILI.

METHODS

This was a randomised open-label trial. Eligible patients with causality assessment using the updated RUCAM were randomly assigned (1:1) either to the steroid treatment group (48-week stepwise dose reduction of methylprednisolone plus glycyrrhizin) or control group (glycyrrhizin alone). Liver biopsies were performed at baseline and at the end of the 48-week treatment period. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with sustained biochemical response (SBR). The secondary outcomes were improvement in liver histology, time to biochemical normalisation and safety.

RESULTS

Of 80 participants, 70 (87.5%) completed the trial. The patients were predominantly female (77.5%), aged >40 years (77.5%) and had a hepatocellular injury pattern of DILI (71.2%). Compared to the control group, the treatment group showed a higher proportion of SBR (94.3% vs. 71.4%, p = 0.023), shorter biochemical normalisation time and histological improvements in both histological activity and fibrosis. The DILI and HILI subgroups, as well as the autoimmune hepatitis (AIH)-like DILI and non-AIH-like subgroups, showed comparable responses. No severe adverse events were observed during the trial.

CONCLUSION

This study provides the first clinical evidence that corticosteroid plus glycyrrhizin therapy for chronic DILI with or without AIH-like features can achieve both biochemical response and histological improvements with good safety. (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02651350).

Role of Corticosteroids in Drug-Induced Liver Injury. A Systematic Review

Introduction: Apart from cessation of the implicated agent leading to drug-induced liver injury (DILI), there is no standard therapy for DILI. Corticosteroids have been used in DILI, although their efficacy is unclear. Published data showed either beneficial effects or no improvement associated with steroid therapy. The aim of the current study was to perform a systematic review of the role of corticosteroids in the treatment of DILI.

Methods: A search was performed in PubMed, searching for the terms: “corticosteroids” and “drug-induced liver injury”. Observation studies were included, but case reports excluded.

Results: A total of 24 papers were retrieved. Most of these were observational studies on the effects of corticosteroids in moderate/severe DILI (n = 8), reports on the corticosteroid treatment in patients with drug-induced autoimmune hepatitis (DI-AIH) (n = 5), and effects of corticosteroids in drug-induced fulminant acute liver failure (ALF, n = 2). Furthermore, treatment of corticosteroids in patients with liver injury due to check point inhibitors (CPIs) was addressed in nine studies. In moderate/severe DILI, six out of eight studies suggested steroid treatment to be beneficial, whereas two studies showed negative results. All five observational studies on the effects of corticosteroids in DI-AIH showed good therapeutic response with rapid and long lasting effects after discontinuation of corticosteroids and without evidence of relapse. Steroid therapy was not associated with improved overall survival in patients with drug-induced fulminant ALF. CPIs-induced liver injury was found to improve spontaneously in 33–50% without corticosteroids, and the rate of patients who were treated responded to steroids in 33–100% (mean 72%).

Conclusions: The majority of studies analyzing the effects of corticosteroids in moderate/severe DILI have demonstrated beneficial effects. However, this was not the case in drug-induced fulminant ALF. Patients with DI-AIH had an excellent response to corticosteroids. The majority of those with CPIs-induced liver injury responded to corticosteroids; however, patients without treatment usually recovered spontaneously. The observational design and comparison with historical controls in these studies makes it very difficult to draw conclusions on the efficacy of corticosteroids in DILI. Therefore, there is a strong need for a randomized controlled trial to properly assess the role of corticosteroids in DILI.

Pharmacotherapies for Drug-Induced Liver Injury: A Current Literature Review

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) has become a serious public health problem. For the management of DILI, discontinuation of suspicious drug or medicine is the first step, but the treatments including drugs and supporting approaches are needed. Reference to clinical patterns and disease severity grades of DILI, the treatment drugs were considered to summarize into hepatoprotective drugs (N-acetylcysteine and Glutathione, Glycyrrhizin acid preparation, Polyene phosphatidylcholine, Bicyclol, Silymarin), anticholestatic drug (Ursodeoxycholic acid, S-adenosylmethionine, Cholestyramine), immunosuppressants (Glucocorticoids) and specific treatment agents (L-carnitine, Anticoagulants). The current article reviewed the accumulated literature with evidence-based medicine researches for DILI in clinical practice. Also the drawbacks of the clinical studies involved in the article, unmet needs and prospective development for DILI therapy were discussed.

Analysis of Clinical Characteristics and Chronic Factors of Drug-induced Liver Injury in Chronic Hepatitis B Infection: A Retrospective Study

Background: This study investigated clinical characteristics and chronic factors of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) among patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Methods: DILI patients were enrolled and divided into a DILI group and an HBV+DILI group. Laboratory indicators were recorded and analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to determine risk factors and the predictive value for chronic DILI. Results: Of all the 114 patients, 87 were in the DILI group and 27 were in the HBV+DILI group. Baseline total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), and incidence of chronicity were significantly higher in the HBV+DILI group than in the DILI group (P = 0.017, P = 0.037, P = 0.045, respectively). However, platelet (PLT) and prothrombin activity (PTA) were significantly lower in the HBV+DILI group than in the DILI group (P = 0.022, P = 0.013, respectively). HBV infection, baseline aspartate aminotransferase (AST) > 200 U/L, and TBIL > 34.2 μmol/L were predictors of chronic DILI (OR = 4.481 [95% CI, 1.298 - 15.470], P = 0.018; OR = 8.478 [95% CI, 2.079 - 34.566], P = 0.003; OR = 7.358 [95% CI, 2.215 - 24.446], P = 0.001). The area under ROC curve (AUC) of joint diagnosis for chronic DILI was 0.814 (95% CI, 0.704 - 0.925, P < 0.001), which was significantly higher than that of single parameter prediction. Also, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of joint diagnosis were 81.0%, 73.1%, 40.5%, and 94.4%, respectively. Conclusions: HBV infection aggravated liver injury. HBV infection, baseline AST > 200 U/L, and TBIL > 34.2 μmol/L were predictors of chronic DILI, and their joint diagnosis could be used to predict chronic DILI effectively.

miR122-controlled all-in-one nanoplatform for in situ theranostic of drug-induced liver injury by visualization imaging guided on-demand drug release

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a challenging clinical problem with respect to both diagnosis and management. As a newly emerging biomarker of liver injury, miR122 shows great potential in early and sensitive in situ detection of DILI. Glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) possesses desirable therapeutic effect on DILI, but its certain dose-dependent side effects after long-term and/or high-dose administration limit its clinical application. In this study, in order to improve the precise diagnosis and effective treatment of DILI, GA loaded all-in-one theranostic nanoplatform was designed by assembling of upconversion nanoparticles and gold nanocages. As a proof of concept, we demonstrated the applicability of this single-wavelength laser-triggered theranostic nanoplatform for the spatiotemporally controllable in situ imaging of DILI and miR122-controlled on-demand drug release in vitro and in vivo. This novel nanoplatform opens a promising avenue for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of DILI.

Critical Review of Gaps in the Diagnosis and Management of Drug-Induced Liver Injury Associated with Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) encompasses the unexpected damage that drugs can cause to the liver. DILI may develop in the context of an immunoallergic syndrome with cutaneous manifestations, which are sometimes severe (SCARs). Nevirapine, allopurinol, anti-epileptics, sulfonamides, and antibiotics are the most frequent culprit drugs for DILI associated with SCARs. Interestingly, alleles HLA-B*58:01 and HLA-A*31:01 are associated with both adverse reactions. However, there is no consensus about the criteria used for the characterization of liver injury in this context, and the different thresholds for DILI definition make it difficult to gain insight into this complex disorder. Moreover, current limitations when evaluating causality in patients with DILI associated with SCARs are related to the plethora of causality assessment methods and the lack of consensual complementary tools. Finally, the management of this condition encompasses the treatment of liver and skin injury. Although the use of immunomodulant agents is accepted for SCARs, their role in treating liver injury remains controversial. Further randomized clinical trials are needed to test their efficacy and safety to address this complex entity. Therefore, this review aims to identify the current gaps in the definition, diagnosis, prognosis, and management of DILI associated with SCARs, proposing different strategies to fill in these gaps.

Accuracy of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-to-platelet ratio (GPR), red cell distribution width (RDW), aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), and the fibrosis-4 index (FIB4) compared with liver biopsy in patients with drug-induced liver injury (DILI)

ABSTRACT

This study objected to evaluate the accuracy of the gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-to-platelet ratio (GPR), aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), red cell distribution width (RDW), and fibrosis-4 index (FIB4) index, compared with liver biopsy (LB), in predicting the severity of inflammation in drug-induced liver injury (DILI) patients.We evaluated patients with DILI who were followed at the First Hospital of Jilin University and underwent LB. Accuracy of each method was analyzed using ROC analysis. Classifications of liver inflammation included G0-4.One hundred fifty six DILI patients were included with LB and complete medical records. 62.8% (98), 39.1% (61), and 16.7% (26) were classified as ≥G2, ≥G3, or G4, respectively. The AUROCs, by degree of inflammation, were: ≥G2: GPR: 0.654, RDW: 0.635, APRI: 0.728, and FIB4: 0.739; ≥G3: GPR: 0.623, RDW: 0.703, APRI: 0.777, and FIB4: 0.781; and G4: GPR: 0.556, RDW: 0.647, APRI: 0.729, and FIB4: 0.714. To predict ≥G2 inflammation, there were no differences between the AUROCs for GPR, RDW, APRI, and FIB4. To predict ≥G3 inflammation, the AUROCs for FIB4 and APRI were higher than that for GPR (0.781 vs 0.623, P < .01; 0.777 vs 0.623, P < .05). As for G4 inflammation, the AUROCs for FIB4 and APRI were also higher than GPR (0.714 vs 0.556, P < .05, 0.729 vs 0.556, P < .05).When the level of inflammation was higher than G2 in patients with DILI, it could be predicted using APRI and FIB4 as non-invasive markers for this condition.

Glycyrrhizin mediated liver-targeted alginate nanogels delivers quercetin to relieve acute liver failure

Acute liver failure is an uncommon and dramatic clinical syndrome with a high risk of mortality. Previous treatments existed some limitations of poor bioavailability and targeting the efficiency of drugs. In this study, a novel glycyrrhizin mediated liver-targeted alginate nanogels, which can deliver the antioxidant quercetin to the liver for the treatment of acute liver injury. In vitro radical scavenging results showed that the antioxidant activity of quercetin was increased 81-fold. The tissue distribution results indicated that glycyrrhizin-mediated nanogels showed stronger fluorescence intensity in the liver, which improved liver targeting and therapeutic efficacy. Quercetin-glycyrrhizin nanogels were more effective at restoring liver injury as indicated on serum markers, including alanine transaminase, aspartate aminotransferase, and total bilirubin. The histopathology result showed that quercetin-glycyrrhizin nanogels reversed liver damage. Oxidative parameters of malondialdehyde and glutathione s-transferase were decreased, which provided supporting evidence of antioxidation. Moreover, quercetin-glycyrrhizin nanogels were more effective in down-regulating the inflammation-related gene expression of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase and monocyte chemotactic protein-1. In conclusion, the novel glycyrrhizin mediated liver-targeted alginate nanogels might be a promising treatment for acute liver failure.

Worldwide Use of RUCAM for Causality Assessment in 81,856 Idiosyncratic DILI and 14,029 HILI Cases Published 1993-Mid 2020: A Comprehensive Analysis

Background: A large number of idiosyncratic drug induced liver injury (iDILI) and herb induced liver injury(HILI) cases of variable quality has been published but some are a matter of concern if the cases were not evaluated for causality using a robust causality assessment method (CAM) such as RUCAM (Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method) as diagnostiinjuryc algorithm. The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate the worldwide use of RUCAM in iDILI and HILI cases. Methods: The PubMed database (1993-30 June 2020) was searched for articles by using the following key terms: Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method; RUCAM; Idiosyncratic drug induced liver injury; iDILI; Herb induced liver injury; HILI. Results: Considering reports published worldwide since 1993, our analysis showed the use of RUCAM for causality assessment in 95,885 cases of liver injury including 81,856 cases of idiosyncratic DILI and 14,029 cases of HILI. Among the top countries providing RUCAM based DILI cases were, in decreasing order, China, the US, Germany, Korea, and Italy, with China, Korea, Germany, India, and the US as the top countries for HILI. Conclusion: Since 1993 RUCAM is certainly the most widely used method to assess causality in IDILI and HILI. This should encourage practitioner, experts, and regulatory agencies to use it in order to reinforce their diagnosis and to take sound decisions.

Prolonged interval of total bilirubin decline is an early independent predictive factor of chronic persistent drug-induced liver injury

AIM

Chronic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) with persistent abnormal liver function tests (LFTs) >6 months after cessation of the insulting drugs could progress to cirrhosis. The aim of the present study was to identify the risk factors of chronic DILI for early recognition and better management.

METHODS

History of drug intake and results of LFTs were retrospectively retrieved for patients with a discharge diagnosis of DILI for at least 1-year follow up. The risk factors independently associated with chronic DILI were analyzed by multiple logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 33 of the 140 DILI patients had persistent abnormal LFTs >6 months, which were considered as chronic DILI. It was found that the time intervals of alanine aminotransferase and total bilirubin decline from the peak to their half peak (T_0.5ALT , T_0.5TBIL ) were significantly longer in the chronic DILI group than that in the recovered group (P = 0.001 and P < 0.001). The risk factors associated with chronic DILI independently were T_0.5TBIL (OR 1.315, 95% CI 1.038-1.668), longer period of insulting drug(s) intake (OR 1.018, 95% CI 1.003-1.033), mixed/cholestatic pattern (OR 97.159, 95% CI 1.866-5005.994). More importantly, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the prognostic value of T_0.5TBIL for chronic DILI had a sensitivity of 60.0% at a specificity of 90.7% with the threshold of 16 days.

CONCLUSIONS

The time intervals of total bilirubin decline from its peak to half of its peak (T_0.5TBIL ) was an early independent predictive factor of chronic DILI, suggesting that T_0.5TBIL might serve as an indicator for chronicity.

Research advances in the association of drug-induced liver injury with polymorphisms in human leukocyte antigen

Drug-induced liver injury is an important adverse drug reaction. Due to the lack of specificity in clinical symptoms and pathological features, there are still no reliable diagnostic biomarkers, so drug-induced liver injury is a diagnosis of exclusion. The article reviews the relevant advances in the association between novel human leukocyte antigen gene polymorphisms and drug-induced liver injury in order to identify potential biomarkers and provide a new method for the prediction and diagnosis of drug-induced liver injury. Henceforth, while studying the association between them, it will also need that the large sample and prospective studies to gain supporting evidence to implement translational application, so as to improve the safety and effectiveness of medication and achieve individualized treatment.

Idiosyncratic Liver Injury Due to Levocetirizine

Levocetirizine is an over-the-counter nonsedating antihistaminic agent commonly used to treat allergic diseases. Clinically significant acute liver injury has been very rarely associated with its use. Only 2 cases of acute liver injury associated with levocetirizine have been reported in the literature. We describe the case of a 67-year-old man who developed clinically significant acute hepatic injury after using levocetirizine. On the liver biopsy, there were histological findings of periportal inflammation and prominent cholestatic injury; such findings are consistent with those previously described in another similar case.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine-related Drug-induced Liver Injury in Asia

The use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) for treatment of acute and chronic diseases is on the rise world over, especially in Asian countries, and mostly in China and India. Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) due to CAM is increasingly reported in the literature from multiple centers all around the world and with large-number patient series published from the West, mostly based on nation-wide DILI networks and multicenter collaboration. Comprehensive DILI networks are lacking among major Asian countries with high incidence of CAM practices. Chinese medical societies dealing with drug toxicity, CAM practice and hepatobiliary disease have adopted an integrated approach to establishing identification, diagnosis and treatment of CAM-related DILI, representing a systematic approach that could be iterated by other countries for improving patient outcomes. In this exhaustive review, we provide published data on CAM-related DILI in Asia, with detail on incidences along with analysis of patient population and their clinical outcomes. Concise and clear discussion on commonly implicated CAM agents in major Asian countries and associated chemical and toxicology analyses as well as descriptions of liver biopsy findings are discussed with future directions.

Systematic review of published data on herb induced liver injury

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Herbal products have been widely used as a means of ethnomedicine worldwide. Recently, the potential hepatotoxicity of herbs has become a medical issue but comprehensive studies are limited.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study aims to determine the clinical features of herb induced liver injury (HILI) including its constituent ratio among liver injury case cohorts that included both HILI and drug induced liver injury (DILI).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic review was conducted using a literature search for DILI/HILI in seven electric databases including PubMed, Cochrane and Embase. We analyzed the DILI/HILI cases and clinical characteristics in terms of herbs, conventional drugs, concomitant, or others.

RESULTS

Thirty-one studies met the necessary criteria and included 9 prospective and 22 retrospective studies. Among total number of overall DILI/HILI cases (7511, male 2819, female 3669 and unknown 1023), 25.0% (1874 cases) were implicated in herbs. HILI was relatively higher in females (69.8% vs. 30.2% male), compared to conventional drugs (57.3% female vs. 42.7% male, p < 0.01), while it was prone to induce hepatocellular injury (hepatocellular 78.8%, cholestatic 8.9%, mixed type 12.3%), contrary to conventional drugs (hepatocellular 56.7% vs. cholestatic 22.1% vs. mixed 21.2%), respectively (p < 0.01). The main herbs causing HILI included Polygonum multiflorum, Psoralea corylifolia, Corydalis yanhusuo, and Rheum officinale.

CONCLUSIONS

This review created the comparative and comprehensive feature of hepatotoxicity by herbal products, which provides reference data for the clinical applications and establishing pharmacovigilance system of herbs.

Corticosteroid therapy in drug-induced liver injury: Pros and cons

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a liver toxicity induced by a drug or its metabolite. The incidence of DILI continues to increase and it has been an enormous challenge worldwide, while the prognosis is not optimistic. Currently, the most effective treatment for DILI is to suspend the offending drug(s) and to avoid re-exposure, with no definitive therapy available for idiosyncratic DILI with or without acute liver failure. Given the anti-inflammatory effects of corticosteroids, they have been widely used in DILI in clinical practice, although their efficacy remains controversial. Several studies have shown their beneficial effects but a few reports have refuted the efficacy of corticosteroids in treating patients with DILI. In this review, we summarized the history and current status of corticosteroid use in liver diseases and the pros and cons of corticosteroid treatment in DILI, and we explored the DILI candidates who may benefit from corticosteroid therapy, the administration route and dosage, and the adverse effects related to corticosteroid use.

Comparative analysis of different clinical typing methods for drug-induced liver injury

AIM

To compare the clinical classification of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) by different methods and analyze their relationship with the pathological features of the liver.

METHODS

In this study, 133 patients who were clinically diagnosed with DILI and underwent liver pathological examination were enrolled. We adopted the criteria established and updated by the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS classification standard) and the guidelines developed by the European Association for the Study of the Liver in 2009 (EASL diagnostic criteria) for DILI clinical classification. The classification results were compared with liver pathological damage types to analyze the relationship between different classification standards and liver pathology.

RESULTS

The results of classification using "R value" were consistent to those using "R' value". The differences among the results of classification using the CIOMS classification standard, EASL diagnostic criteria, and liver pathology were statistically significant (P < 0.01). The percentage of cases with hepatocellular type and the overall percentage of cases with cholestatic type and mixed type diagnosed by the three methods were as follows: (CIOMS: 79.70% vs 20.30%; EASL: 54.89% vs 45.11%; liver pathology: 37.59% vs 62.41%). Based on liver pathology, the diagnostic accordance rates of "R value", "R' value", and EASL diagnostic criteria were 41.35%, 41.35%, and 51.13%, respectively. During the one-year follow-up period, 24 (18.05%) cases developed chronic DILI, including 15 (62.50%) cases with cholestasis in liver pathology.

CONCLUSION

The biochemical method based on the CIOMS classification standard and the EASL diagnostic criteria cannot objectively reflect the pathological manifestations in the liver.

CSH guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of drug-induced liver injury

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is an important clinical problem, which has received more attention in recent decades. It can be induced by small chemical molecules, biological agents, traditional Chinese medicines (TCM), natural medicines (NM), health products (HP), and dietary supplements (DS). Idiosyncratic DILI is far more common than intrinsic DILI clinically and can be classified into hepatocellular injury, cholestatic injury, hepatocellular-cholestatic mixed injury, and vascular injury based on the types of injured target cells. The CSH guidelines summarized the epidemiology, pathogenesis, pathology, and clinical manifestation and gives 16 evidence-based recommendations on diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of DILI.

Beneficial effect of corticosteroids for patients with severe drug-induced liver injury

OBJECTIVE

The efficacy of corticosteroids in drug-induced liver injury (DILI) remains controversial. We aimed to determine whether corticosteroids were beneficial for severe DILI.

METHODS

This was a single-center retrospective study of patients with DILI enrolled between January 2010 and May 2015.

RESULTS

Of the 203 patients enrolled, 53 were treated with corticosteroids. The baseline characteristics of patients received corticosteroids were more severe than that of the non-corticosteroid group. Subgroup analyses indicated that almost all patients who died had the higher 50% quartile of total bilirubin (TB) levels. Among the 50-75% quartile of TB level, no patient in the corticosteroids group but 3 (15.0%) of 20 patients in the non-corticosteroid group died (P = 0.261). With the highest 25% quartile of TB level, four patients in the corticosteroids group and four in the non-corticosteroids group died (P = 0.405). Corticosteroid therapy improved the recovery rate from 77.4% to 87.9% in the higher 50% quartile of TB values (P = 0.331). More interestingly, corticosteroid administration hastened the resolution of liver injury by shortening the duration of peak TB to 50% reduction from 17 to 12 days (P < 0.05). Additionally, multivariate analysis revealed that the TB levels and cholestatic injury type were the two independent factors associated with a poor outcome of DILI.

CONCLUSIONS

Corticosteroids are not detrimental to DILI, but instead ameliorate liver injury and improve patient survival. Short-time use of corticosteroids is strongly recommended for severe DILI patients with hyperbilirubinemia.

Clinical and histological features of idiosyncratic liver injury: Dilemma in diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis

AIM

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is becoming a worldwide problem with its still unexplained properties.

METHODS

The data of patients who were diagnosed with DILI between January 2008 and December 2013 were assessed.

RESULTS

Five patients had been diagnosed with intrinsic and 82 patients with idiosyncratic DILI. The most common causative agents were antimicrobial drugs. The most common injury pattern was hepatocellular. When patients with bilirubin levels of more than 5 mg/dL were divided into two groups according to receiving steroid therapy (n = 11) or not (n = 40), there was not any significant difference according to their clinical results (P > 0.05). Five of the idiosyncratic DILI patients were diagnosed with drug-induced autoimmune hepatitis (DI-AIH). In histopathological examination, hepatic rosette formation and emperipolesis were observed to be more common among patients with DI-AIH when compared with ones without (P < 0.05). Interestingly, in the remaining patients with DILI (n = 77), three of them were diagnosed with classic autoimmune hepatitis during long-term follow up (range, 11-51 months).

CONCLUSION

The most common causes were antimicrobials, but any agents that have not been defined to cause DILI can induce DILI. The efficacy of steroids in DILI has not been observed but all deaths were observed in the steroid-free group. The association of DILI and AIH was observed in two different types in terms of diagnosis in our study. The first association was DI-AIH. The second one is the classical AIH which developed in three patients after a few months following spontaneous recovery of DILI.

RUCAM in Drug and Herb Induced Liver Injury: The Update

RUCAM (Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method) or its previous synonym CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences) is a well established tool in common use to quantitatively assess causality in cases of suspected drug induced liver injury (DILI) and herb induced liver injury (HILI). Historical background and the original work confirm the use of RUCAM as single term for future cases, dismissing now the term CIOMS for reasons of simplicity and clarity. RUCAM represents a structured, standardized, validated, and hepatotoxicity specific diagnostic approach that attributes scores to individual key items, providing final quantitative gradings of causality for each suspect drug/herb in a case report. Experts from Europe and the United States had previously established in consensus meetings the first criteria of RUCAM to meet the requirements of clinicians and practitioners in care for their patients with suspected DILI and HILI. RUCAM was completed by additional criteria and validated, assisting to establish the timely diagnosis with a high degree of certainty. In many countries and for more than two decades, physicians, regulatory agencies, case report authors, and pharmaceutical companies successfully applied RUCAM for suspected DILI and HILI. Their practical experience, emerging new data on DILI and HILI characteristics, and few ambiguous questions in domains such alcohol use and exclusions of non-drug causes led to the present update of RUCAM. The aim was to reduce interobserver and intraobserver variability, to provide accurately defined, objective core elements, and to simplify the handling of the items. We now present the update of the well accepted original RUCAM scale and recommend its use for clinical, regulatory, publication, and expert purposes to validly establish causality in cases of suspected DILI and HILI, facilitating a straightforward application and an internationally harmonized approach of causality assessment as a common basic tool.

Protective effect of Th22 cells and intrahepatic IL-22 in drug induced hepatocellular injury

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Th22 cells regulate host immunity against pathogenic invasion, including protecting host against chronic hepatitis B; however, the relationship between drug induced liver injury (DILI) and Th22/Th17 cells is still unclear. We investigated the role of Th22 cells in DILI development.

METHODS

The frequencies of peripheral Th22/Th17/Th1 cells and intrahepatic IL-22/IL-17 production from DILI, non-DILI liver diseases, and healthy controls were examined. Plasma IL-22/IL-17 and the related cytokines were determined in DILI patients at week 0 (defined as the occurrence of liver injury within 7days), 4 and 24. Multivariable stepwise logistic regression was applied to explore the associations between various factors and recovery of DILI.

RESULTS

The frequencies of Th22/Th17 cells were significantly higher in DILI onset patients than HC. Significant increase of Th22 cells and the related cytokines levels was observed in DILI with hepatocellular injury type. There was a positive correlation between intrahepatic IL-22 level and liver regeneration. Plasma IL-22 level was higher in DILI patients with improved liver function than unimproved function. Multivariable analysis showed that the odds ratio (OR) of plasma IL-22 at 4weeks was 1.054 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.012, 1.124].

CONCLUSIONS

Increased peripheral and intrahepatic IL-22-secreting cells are detected in DILI. Th22 and its related cytokines might be hepato-protective, which might provide new perspective for understanding the immunopathogenesis of DILI. Plasma IL-22 might be a reliable indicator to evaluate the prognosis of DILI and provide a novel therapeutic target for DILI treatment.

Drug Induced Liver Injury: Review with a Focus on Genetic Factors, Tissue Diagnosis, and Treatment Options

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a rare but potentially life threatening adverse drug reaction. DILI may mimic any morphologic characteristic of acute or chronic liver disease, and the histopathologic features of DILI may be indistinguishable from those of other causes of liver injury, such as acute viral hepatitis. In this review article, we provide an update on causative agents, clinical features, pathogenesis, diagnosis modalities, and outcomes of DILI. In addition, we review results of recently reported genetic studies and updates on pharmacological and invasive treatments.

Preventive use of hepatoprotectors yields limited efficacy on the liver toxicity of anti-tuberculosis agents in a large cohort of Chinese patients

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

We aimed to explore the effectiveness of preventive usage of hepatoprotectors in patients with tuberculosis (TB) receiving anti-TB treatment.

METHODS

With stratified cluster sampling strategy, a prospective cohort with 4488 sputum smears positive pulmonary TB patients was established from 52 counties of four regions in China. During anti-TB treatment, prescriptions of hepatoprotectors were documented in detail, and liver enzymes were routinely monitored. Anti-TB drug-induced liver injury (ATLI) was assessed based on liver enzymes following the criteria of American Thoracic Society. The incidence of ATLI between the preventive usage group and reference group was compared by propensity score adjusted Cox proportional hazard analysis. Preexisting diseases, history of liver disease, hepatitis B surface antigen status, primary/re-treatment of TB, income per year, and liver enzymes before anti-TB treatment were included in the propensity score model.

RESULTS

After 6-9 months of follow-up and monitoring, 4304 patients sustained in our cohort. Two thousand seven hundred fifty-two (63.9%) patients preventively took hepatoprotectors with a median course of 183 days. Most frequently used drugs were Hu Gan Pian, silymarin, glucurone, and inosine. Two thousand one hundred forty-four (77.9%) patients took those drugs more than 6 months. Sixty-nine (2.4%) patients of preventive usage group and 37 (2.5%) of reference group experienced ATLI, respectively. Statistical significances were not found by propensity score analysis for the association between using hepatoprotectors (hazard ratio[HR] = 0.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.65-1.52), using hepatoprotectors in the whole course (HR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.60-1.48), using Hu Gan Pians, silymarin, glucurone, and inosine with ATLI occurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

No preventive effect of hepatoprotectors was observed in patients receiving anti-TB treatment.

A new animal model for Polygonum multiflorum Thunb-induced liver injury in rats and its potential mechanisms

The model is established successfully with the activation of LPS. Its pathogenesis is associated with the expression of mTLR4 in rats' liver. MicroRNA-122 is certificated to be an ideal potential serum biomarker for this model.

Histopathologic manifestations of drug-induced hepatotoxicity

Drug-induced hepatotoxicity is underrecognized but increasingly identified as causing acute and chronic liver disease. Several prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, dietary and/or supplementary agents, and herbal products are hepatotoxic. Drug-induced liver injury mimics other primary acute and chronic liver diseases and it should be considered in patients with hepatobiliary disease. Certain drugs result in specific histopathologic patterns of liver injury, which may help in sorting out the responsible drug. The diagnosis of drug-induced hepatotoxicity is challenging. It involves excluding other possible causes, careful medication history, the latent period between drug exposure and symptom onset and/or abnormal liver tests, and histopathologic findings.