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Pre‐operative hepatitis in a woman treated with Chinese medicines
Author(s) -
Critchley L. A. H.,
Chen D. Q.,
Chu T. T.,
Fok B. S.,
Yeung C.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
anaesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.839
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2044
pISSN - 0003-2409
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2044.2003.03443.x
Subject(s) - medicine , radical hysterectomy , prothrombin time , liver function , liver function tests , medical prescription , surgery , traditional chinese medicine , liver dysfunction , hepatitis , hysterectomy , cervical cancer , liver cancer , anesthesia , cancer , gastroenterology , alternative medicine , pathology , pharmacology
Summary A 37‐year‐old Hong Kong Chinese female with cervical cancer was scheduled for radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy. Her past health was good. Pre‐operatively, she was found to have a fatty liver, prolonged prothrombin time and abnormal liver function tests. Surgery was not postponed and she was anaesthetised uneventfully, using a general anaesthetic technique. The procedure lasted 4 h. Postoperatively, she developed a large pelvic haematoma and a wound infection. Her coagulation and liver function tests gradually returned to normal. No obvious medical cause for her liver dysfunction could be found. However, it emerged that she had received a 6‐week course of traditional Chinese medicines prior to admission. The prescriptions contained over 60 different ingredients, some of which were known to be hepatotoxic, cytotoxic or to cause bleeding. This was the most likely explanation for her liver dysfunction.