Drug induced hepatitis mimicking Wilson’s disease secondary to the use of complex naturopathic regimens: a case report

Drug induced liver injury (DILI) is an important cause of acute liver injury and accounts for approximately 10% of all cases of acute hepatitis. Both prescription and natural health products (NHPs) have been implicated in DILI. There is a dearth of studies on NHPs induced liver injury.

A previously healthy 37-year-old female presented with subacute hepatitis, in the context of a previous admission to a separate institution, months prior for undiagnosed acute hepatitis. Importantly, she had disclosed taking complex regiments of natural health products (NHPs) for months. Her only other medication was rivaroxaban for her homozygous Factor V Leiden deficiency. She had an extensive work up for causes of acute and unresolving hepatitis. She discontinued several but not all of her NHPs after her initial presentation for acute hepatitis at the first institution and continued taking NHPs until shortly after admission to our institution. The predominant pathological features were that of drug induced liver injury, although an abnormal amount of copper was noted in the core liver biopsies. However, Wilson’s disease was ruled out with normal serum ceruloplasmin and 24-urine copper. After 2 months of stopping all the NHPs, our patient improved significantly since discharge, although there is evidence of fibrosis on ultrasound at last available follow up.

NHPs are a well-established but poorly understood etiology of DILI. The situation is exacerbated by the unregulated and unpredictable nature of many of the potential hepatotoxic effects of these agents, especially in cases of multiple potential toxic agents. This highlights the importance of acquiring a clear history of all medications regardless of prescription status.