Family Medicine & Primary Care Review

Abstract

2/2026 vol. 28
Review paper

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in pregnancy: a case report

  1. 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

  2. Student’s Scientific Group, 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

Family Medicine & Primary Care Review 2026; 28(2): 205–208

Online publish date: 2026/06/22
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Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) must be taken into consideration when a pregnant woman takes medications and presents symptoms of acute or chronic hepatitis, hepatocellular, cholestatic or mixed, as it poses a danger to both mother and fetus. Among causative medications, paracetamol is the most common, followed by antibiotics. There is a case report of a 24-year-old pregnant woman admitted to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic with presentation of yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes, pruritus of the skin and clinical suspicion of gestational cholestasis. Due to skin lesions, stiff neck, cold sores, fever, and the presence of ANA and anti-Ro antibodies since the 21st week of gestation, the patient was treated with prednisone and hydroxychloroquine and was symptomatically treated with paracetamol. At the time of admission to the Clinic, laboratory tests showed elevated values of liver parameters and CRP. During hospitalization, an enlarged liver with dilatation of the hepatic ducts was revealed. The patient was consulted dermatologically and hepatologically, and tests for viral liver diseases were negative. Based on overall case analysis and the atypical clinical course, a drug-induced liver injury was suspected. After paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine were discontinued, the complete normalization of liver parameters was achieved. It must be underlined that DILI remains a diagnosis of exclusion, and thus testing for other causes of hepatic injury such as autoimmune hepatitis, acute viral hepatitis, ischemic liver injury, and Budd-Chiari syndrome is crucial. In case of a confirmed medical history of treatment with potentially hepatotoxic drugs, there is no need to perform a liver biopsy.

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