Drug-Induced Liver Injury in the Setting of Analgesic Use

Abstract

No professional society has created guidelines to aid clinicians in the management of analgesics in the setting of hepatic injury. Acetaminophen overdose is the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States. In the setting of acetaminophen toxicity, N-acetylcysteine remains the standard of care. Other analgesics including nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, opiates, tricyclic antidepressants, and anticonvulsants rarely cause liver injury.

Keywords: Acetaminophen; Acute liver failure; Acute liver injury; Analgesic; Liver transplantation; NSAIDs; Opiates.