Drug-Induced Liver Injury Secondary to Terbinafine Use

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) has a symptomatic profile that mimics many forms of hepatic injury. In patients presenting with symptoms suspicious of acute liver injury, it is important that clinicians effectively rule out more common causes while simultaneously maintaining a broad differential diagnosis that includes DILI. In this report, we present the case of a 41-year-old African American male who was admitted to the hospital for two weeks' duration of worsening jaundice, right upper quadrant pain, pruritus, and acholic stools after terbinafine use for an acute episode of onychomycosis. Physical examination showed evidence of jaundice, scleral icterus, and a soft non-distended abdomen. Initial laboratory results at admission showed significant elevation of total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase. Careful review of the patient's medications, a clinical workup to rule out primary causes of hepatobiliary pathology, and confirmatory liver biopsy showing benign hepatic parenchyma with marked cholestasis including bile plugs and bile granulomas provided sufficient evidence supporting terbinafine use as the inciting factor. The emphasis of this case is to highlight the symptoms, diagnostic measures, and suspected pathophysiology of terbinafine-induced hepatotoxicity.