Ceftriaxone-Associated Severe Acute Hepatitis

Muhammad Asif; Wahab J Khan; Sadia Aslam; Ifrah Nadeem; Ashwani K Singal

doi:10.7759/cureus.36341

Ceftriaxone-Associated Severe Acute Hepatitis

Cureus. 2023 Mar 18;15(3):e36341. doi: 10.7759/cureus.36341. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Muhammad Asif¹, Wahab J Khan², Sadia Aslam¹, Ifrah Nadeem², Ashwani K Singal³

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center, Sioux Falls, USA.
² Internal Medicine, University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, Sioux Falls, USA.
³ Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center, Sioux Falls, USA.

Abstract

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a common entity. Ceftriaxone is a well-tolerated parenteral antibiotic widely used for various bacterial infections. We report a patient who developed severe acute hepatitis following a single dose of 2 g ceftriaxone within one day. Apart from a fever of 101.9 F, no other insult was noted to explain his severe hepatocellular injury around the time of presentation. On stopping further ceftriaxone, his symptoms resolved, and liver enzymes normalized within a week. His Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method (RUCAM) score was 6 which suggested DILI be a probable cause of his acute hepatitis. Further surveillance at a larger scale is needed to support evidence for this rare side effect.

Keywords: ceftriaxone adverse effects; drug-induced liver injury (dili); elevated liver-associated enzymes; hepatitis; transaminitis.

Publication types

Case Reports