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Severe Acute Liver Injury After Hepatotoxic Medication Initiation in Real-World Data

Torgersen J, Mezochow AK, Newcomb CW, Carbonari DM, Hennessy S, Rentsch CT, Park LS, Tate JP et al.

JAMA internal medicine, 2024

7 participants

Abstract

IMPORTANCE: Current approaches to classify the hepatotoxic potential of medications are based on cumulative case reports of acute liver injury (ALI), which do not consider the size of the exposed population. There is little evidence from real-world data (data relating to patient health status and/or the delivery of health care routinely collected from sources outside of a research setting) on incidence rates of severe ALI after initiation of medications, accounting for duration of exposure.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the most potentially hepatotoxic medications based on real-world incidence rates of severe ALI and to examine how these rates compare with categorization based on case reports.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This series of cohort studies obtained data from the US Department of Veterans Affairs on persons without preexisting liver or biliary disease who initiated a suspected hepatotoxic medication in the outpatient setting between October 1, 2000, and September 30, 2021. Data were analyzed from June 2020 to November 2023.

EXPOSURES: Outpatient initiation of any one of 194 medications with 4 or more published reports of hepatotoxicity.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Hospitalization for severe ALI, defined by either inpatient: (1) alanine aminotransferase level greater than 120 U/L plus total bilirubin level greater than 2.0 mg/dL or (2) international normalized ratio of 1.5 or higher plus total bilirubin level greater than 2.0 mg/dL recorded within the first 2 days…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 7 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

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