Febuxostat-induced acute liver injury

Abstract

Febuxostat is a unique xanthine oxidase inhibitor that was approved for the prevention of gout in the United States in 2009. Unlike allopurinol, febuxostat is not a nucleoside analogue and has a higher specificity for xanthine oxidase. Although this drug has not been on the market for a long time, febuxostat may be safer than allopurinol. Importantly, febuxostat appears to be safer than allopurinol, which has been linked to many instances of severe hypersensitivity reactions, including skin rash with eosinophilia and systemic manifestations (DRESS syndrome), Stevens Johnson syndrome, acute nephritis, acute icteric hepatitis and acute liver failure. While febuxostat is not infrequently associated with serum enzyme elevations during treatment, it has yet to be linked to cases of clinically apparent acute liver injury. We report a case of acute liver injury with jaundice due to febuxostat and which was identified in a prospective study of drug-induced liver injury in the United States.