Association between the Treatment Pattern of Drug-Induced Liver Injury and Clinical Outcomes: A Retrospective Study

What is Known and Objective? In China, patients with drug-induced liver injury (DILI) are commonly treated with one or more types of hepatoprotective drugs, despite a lack of evidence. We performed this study to investigate the association between the treatment pattern of DILI, including withdrawal of suspected drugs and use of hepatoprotective drugs, and recovery following DILI. Methods. A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Central China. Data of patients with a diagnosis of DILI hospitalized between January 2015 and December 2020 were collected through the Electronic Medical Records System. We excluded cases that did not meet the biochemical criteria of DILI and had a Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method score of less than 3. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between treatment patterns and clinical outcomes. Results and Discussion. In total, 699 patients were included. Suspected drugs were discontinued in 619 patients (88.6%). 693 patients (99.1%) were treated with hepatoprotective drugs, among whom only 14.7% patients received monotherapy with hepatoprotective drugs. Recovery following DILI was seen in 593 cases (84.8%). By multivariate analysis, the number of hepatoprotective drugs combined did not show significance (p=0.363), while the withdrawal of suspected drugs was associated with recovery following DILI (p=0.015). What is New and Conclusion. The withdrawal of suspected drugs is associated with the recovery following DILI, and hepatoprotective drug combinations do not contribute to better outcomes than monotherapy. The findings indicate that DILI patients should stop suspected drugs as soon as possible and the combination therapy of hepatoprotective drugs is unnecessary.