Drug-induced acute liver failure is uncommon, and over-the-counter medications and dietary and herbal supplements, not prescription drugs, are its most common causes, according to a new study published in the current issue of Gastroenterology.
Researchers examined data from Kaiser Permanente Northern California between Jan. 1, 2004 and Dec. 31, 2010.
Of the 5.48 million patients evaluated, 62 were identified with acute liver failure, nearly half of which were drug-induced. Acetaminophen was the cause in 56 percent of cases, dietary/herbal supplements in 19 percent, antibiotics in 6 percent and miscellaneous medications in 18 percent.
"We discovered that 75 percent of acute liver failure cases resulting from prescribed medication use were derived from over-the-counter products such as acetaminophen or herbal supplements," said David Goldberg, MD, lead author of the study. "Prescription medications are an exceedingly rare cause of acute liver failure."
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