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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · AJP Rep 2024; 14(01): e43-e47
DOI: 10.1055/a-2209-4636
Case Report

Chronic Drug-Induced Liver Injury from Labetalol during the Postpartum Period: A Case Report

Bruce Lee 
1   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, New York
,
Suriya Xiong
2   Department of Pharmaceutical Care – Ambulatory Care, Digestive Health Center, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, Coralville, Iowa
,
Elizabeth A. Westen
3   Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, New York
,
Julie Ann Warner
4   Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, New York
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
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Abstract

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a common cause of transaminitis in pregnancy. A 34-year-old G3P2012 presented 3 weeks postpartum for preeclampsia with severe features. After receiving acute antihypertensive medications, she was discharged home with labetalol. She presented 5 months later with general malaise, scleral icterus, nausea, and mild right upper quadrant pain and found to have significantly elevated transaminitis. She had a negative infectious, autoimmune, biliary, and steatohepatitis workup. A liver biopsy was performed supporting the diagnosis of DILI. After patient self-discontinued labetalol, her hepatitis significantly improved. However, she developed chronic DILI and liver enzymes normalized during her subsequent pregnancy at 34 weeks. Patient's written consent was obtained for this case report. Chronic DILI secondary to labetalol use is a rare and potentially fatal condition that should be considered on the differential for transaminitis during pregnancy and postpartum period.

Keywords

drug-induced liver injury - labetalol - preeclampsia - postpartum - transaminitis


Publication History

Received: 12 June 2022

Accepted: 20 October 2023

Accepted Manuscript online:
11 November 2023

Article published online:
23 January 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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