Over-the-counter meds, supplements may cause acute liver failure

[Clark]

http://www.healio.com/hepatology/liver-injury-regeneration/news/online/%7Be6e3a527-3aa1-40d2-a640-32f871744deb%7D/over-the-counter-meds-supplements-may-cause-acute-liver-failure

Over-the-counter meds, supplements may cause acute liver failure
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016508515002991
Goldberg DS, et al. Gastroenterology. 2015;doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2015.02.050.

Acute liver failure is uncommon, according to new findings published in Gastroenterology, but over-the-counter medications and supplements were the most common causes. 

“We discovered that 75% of acute liver failure cases resulting from prescribed medication use were derived from over-the-counter products such as acetaminophen or herbal supplements,” researcher David S. Goldberg, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of medicine and medical director of living donor liver transplantation at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, said in a press release.

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Overall, acetaminophen was the cause of 56.3% of ALF cases, whereas dietary and herbal supplements were found in 18.8%, antimicrobials in 6.3% and miscellaneous medications in 18.8%. One person with acetaminophen-induced ALF and three with non–acetaminophen-induced ALF died during the study.

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