TY - JOUR
T1 - Drug-induced liver injury due to "natural products" used for weight loss
T2 - A case report
AU - Tarantino, Giovanni
AU - Pezzullo, Martina Gilda
AU - di Minno, Matteo Nicola Dario
AU - Milone, Francesco
AU - Pezzullo, Luigi Sossio
AU - Milone, Marco
AU - Capone, Domenico
PY - 2009/5/21
Y1 - 2009/5/21
N2 - Taking herbal-extracts to lose weight is an underestimated health hazard. Often, these products contain active agents that can cause acute liver damage. In this case report, a 22-year-old female patient, who presented with a feature of cholestatic syndrome, was so sure that the "natural products" were not dangerous that she did not inform her physicians that she had taken them, making their task that much more challenging. Clinical presentation mimicked acute cholecystitis and the patient underwent a cholecystectomy. Surgery was without any consequences and complications, although it did not completely cure the illness. She later admitted to having taken herbal remedies and this led to the correct diagnosis of phytotherapy-related hepatotoxicity and a successful therapeutic approach. The true incidence of phytotherapy-related hepatotoxicity and its pathogenic mechanisms are largely unknown. It is important to increase the awareness of both clinicians and patients about the potential dangers of herbal remedies.
AB - Taking herbal-extracts to lose weight is an underestimated health hazard. Often, these products contain active agents that can cause acute liver damage. In this case report, a 22-year-old female patient, who presented with a feature of cholestatic syndrome, was so sure that the "natural products" were not dangerous that she did not inform her physicians that she had taken them, making their task that much more challenging. Clinical presentation mimicked acute cholecystitis and the patient underwent a cholecystectomy. Surgery was without any consequences and complications, although it did not completely cure the illness. She later admitted to having taken herbal remedies and this led to the correct diagnosis of phytotherapy-related hepatotoxicity and a successful therapeutic approach. The true incidence of phytotherapy-related hepatotoxicity and its pathogenic mechanisms are largely unknown. It is important to increase the awareness of both clinicians and patients about the potential dangers of herbal remedies.
KW - Cholecystitis
KW - Drug-induced liver injury
KW - Herbal remedies
KW - Obesity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67651250138&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.3748/wjg.15.2414
DO - 10.3748/wjg.15.2414
M3 - Article
C2 - 19452589
AN - SCOPUS:67651250138
VL - 15
SP - 2414
EP - 2417
JO - World Journal of Gastroenterology
JF - World Journal of Gastroenterology
SN - 1007-9327
IS - 19
ER -