Evaluation of drug-induced liver injury as etiology for acute liver failure in Brazil

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: Little is known about the etiology of acute liver failure (ALF) in Latin America. The objective of this paper is to investigate the main etiologies of ALF in Brazil, including Drug Induced Liver Injury (DILI) using stringent causality criteria.

Patients or material and methods: All the cases of individuals who underwent liver transplantation (LT) in 12 centers in Brazil for ALF were reviewed. When DILI was stated as the cause of ALF, causality criteria were applied on site by the main investigator in order to rule out other etiologies.

Results: 325 individuals had ALF mainly for unknown reasons (34%), DILI (27%) and AIH (18%). Reassessment of the 89 cases of DILI, using stringent causality criteria, revealed that in only 42 subjects could DILI be confirmed as the cause of ALF. Acetaminophen (APAP) toxicity (n = 3) or DILI due to herbal and dietary supplements (HDS) (n = 2) were not commonly observed.

Conclusions: Undetermined etiology and DILI are the main causes of ALF in Brazil. However, APAP toxicity and DILI due to HDS are mostly uncommon.

Keywords: Acute liver failure; Drug induced liver injury; Liver injury.