Herbal and dietary supplement induced liver injury: Highlights from the recent literature

Herbal-induced liver injury (HILI) continues to increase in prevalence each year due to the ongoing popularity of herbal supplements and complementary and alternative medicines. A detailed literature review of case reports and clinical studies published from March 2021 to March 2023 was performed. We discuss the epidemiology and diagnosis of HILI as well as the current and proposed laws and regulations. The 2021 ACG guidelines and 2022 AASLD practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of drug and herbal-induced liver injury are discussed. We describe updates to previously reported etiologies of HILI such as ayurveda, ashwagandha, turmeric, kratom, green tea extract, and garcinia cambogia. Newly described supplements resulting in HILI, such as tinospora cordifolia, horse chestnut, alkaline water, and more, are described. We discuss newly and previously identified hepatoprotective herbal supplements as they have been reported in the study of animal models and human liver cells. This review suggests the need for ongoing research on the causes and mechanisms of HILI to ensure its proper diagnosis, prevention, and treatment in the future. The goal of this review is to provide novice and expert readers with knowledge regarding the possible etiologies of HILI and a general overview.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, and its incidence has increased rapidly in the United States over the past two decades. Liver transplant is considered curative, but is not always possible, and pre-transplant immunotherapy is of great interest as a modality for downstaging the tumor burden. We present a review of the literature on pre-liver transplant immunotherapy use in patients with HCC. Our literature search queried publications in Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, and Web of Science, and ultimately identified 24 original research publications to be included for analysis. We found that the role of PD-1 and PD-L1 in risk stratification for rejection is of special interest to researchers, and ongoing randomized clinical trials PLENTY and Dulect 2020-1 will provide insight into the role of PD-1 and PD-L1 in liver transplant management in the future. This literature search and the resulting review represents the most thorough collection, analysis, and presentation of the literature on the subject to date.

Background: This study aims to analyze the current status of postoperative pain management in the People's Republic of China's provincial-level hospitals, and the existing knowledge and opinions held by patients regarding these methods. Methods: The 128 participants in this study were urology and hepatobiliary patients from three provincial-level hospitals in Hunan. The questionnaire assessing postoperative pain was designed using the typical pain assessment scales and pain management guidelines as references. Results: 82.8% of study participants claimed that their postoperative pain was relieved within 3 days of their operations. However, while 91.4% of surveyed patients experienced moderate to severe pain, 51.6% received no treatment for their postoperative pain, and 14.9% complained that medical personnel failed to manage their pain. 20.2% were unsatisfied with their pain management, indicating that treatment did not meet their expectations. Furthermore, participants demonstrated a great misunderstanding of pain and analgesics, as 72.6% of patients were unfamiliar with morphine, 51.6% of patients believed only certain types of pain required management, and 18.5% refused to use morphine. Conclusion: In most Chinese provincial-level hospitals, current postoperative pain management methods are able to alleviate the pain experienced by the majority of patients, though pain assessment and therapy procedures are still not standardized. Furthermore, most patients lack a proper understanding of postoperative pain and analgesics. Therefore, pain management education for doctors and patients and their relatives should be implemented in order to improve the quality of postoperative pain management.

This review analyzes data regarding liver injury associated with COVID-19 infection. We discuss reported effects on the liver from both COVID-19 and COVID-19 treatment as well as pathophysiology, review the potential role of drug-induced liver injury as an etiology of COVID-19-associated liver injury, and touch on other reports of significant outcomes including COVID-19 cholangiopathy and autoimmune hepatitis. Finally, we review the implications of COVID-19 infection in liver transplant recipients.

Peer reviewed article authored by (Shumin X, Woo SM, Lei Z). Read article or submit your manuscript for publishing.