Finally, LiverTox will be helpful to patients seeking information on liver injury due to drugs. LiverTox consists of three major components: (1) an introductory and background section, (2) separate records on the hepatotoxicity of individual drugs, and (3) an interactive section that allows for submission and assessment of cases. The introductory and background section includes an overview and detailed discussion of the problem of drug-induced liver injury: its frequency, major causes, epidemiology, natural history, diagnosis, and management. The section provides a description of the principal clinical and histologic patterns ABT-263 clinical trial of liver injury (phenotypes), standardized definitions of terms
used, and discussion of methods to diagnose and judge severity and causality in drug-induced liver injury. This section includes specific and detailed information about formal causality assessment instruments such as the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method (RUCAM), the Maria and Victorino Clinical Scale (M&V), the Naranjo Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale, and the Drug Induced-Liver Injury Network (DILIN) Causality Process. The website provides printable copies of the actual instruments, discussion of their relative
strengths and weaknesses, and detailed instructions on their completion (manual of operations). The bulk of the LiverTox website consists of individual records on ∼650 different medications, Belinostat cell line dietary supplements, and herbals. The specific selleck inhibitor agents are searchable using both generic and trade names. The agents discussed include all of the major known causes of drug-induced liver injury as well as the most commonly used medications in the United States (prescription and nonprescription and whether or not they cause liver injury). Limited numbers of the many drugs, herbals, and nutritional
supplements available only outside of the United States are discussed in LiverTox based upon whether they have been implicated in cases of hepatotoxicity. Each drug record is a concise summary (200-400 words) about the drug class, mechanism of action, indications, dose-regimens, frequency of use, and common side effects. This introduction is followed by a concise description of the hepatotoxicity associated with the agent, including its frequency, clinical patterns, and course followed by a brief overview of the known or suspected mechanisms of injury from the medication. A final paragraph summarizes the prognosis and outcome of liver injury from the agent and gives a brief discussion of management. This overview is followed by one to four actual case reports taken from the published literature or from the DILIN Network. The drug record also includes chemical information with the drug structure and specific Internet links to the approved product labeling (package insert).