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ABSTRACT: Objective
The objective of the study was to define the clinical, biochemical, and histologic features of liver injury from thiopurines.Background
Azathioprine (Aza) and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) can cause liver injury, but no large series exist.Methods
Clinical and laboratory data and 6-month outcomes of patients with thiopurine hepatotoxicity from the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network Prospective Study were analyzed.Results
Twenty-two patients were identified, 12 due to Aza and 10 due to 6-MP, with a median age of 55 years; the majority were female (68%). Inflammatory bowel disease was the indication in 55%, and the median thiopurine dose was 150 (range, 25 to 300) mg daily. The median latency to onset was 75 (range, 3 to 2584) days. Injury first arose after a dose escalation in 59% of patients, the median latency after dose increase being 44 (range, 3 to 254) days. At onset, the median alanine aminotransferase level was 210 U/L, alkaline phosphatase was 151 U/L, and bilirubin was 7.4 mg/dL (peak, 13.4 mg/dL). There were no major differences between Aza and 6-MP cases, but anicteric cases typically had nonspecific symptoms and a hepatocellular pattern of enzyme elevations, whereas icteric cases experienced cholestatic hepatitis with modest enzyme elevations in a mixed pattern. One patient with preexisting cirrhosis required liver transplantation; all others resolved clinically. One patient still had moderate alkaline phosphatase elevations 2 years after onset.Conclusions
Nearly three-quarters of patients with thiopurine-induced liver injury present with self-limited, cholestatic hepatitis, typically within 3 months of starting or a dose increase. The prognosis is favorable except in patients with preexisting cirrhosis.
SUBMITTER: Bjornsson ES
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5505863 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Björnsson Einar S ES Gu Jiezhun J Kleiner David E DE Chalasani Naga N Hayashi Paul H PH Hoofnagle Jay H JH
Journal of clinical gastroenterology 20170101 1
<h4>Objective</h4>The objective of the study was to define the clinical, biochemical, and histologic features of liver injury from thiopurines.<h4>Background</h4>Azathioprine (Aza) and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) can cause liver injury, but no large series exist.<h4>Methods</h4>Clinical and laboratory data and 6-month outcomes of patients with thiopurine hepatotoxicity from the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network Prospective Study were analyzed.<h4>Results</h4>Twenty-two patients were identified, 12 d ...[more]