Hepatic failure with fatal outcome during pregnancy following administration of a single therapeutic dose of acetominophen: Case report and literature review.

Abstract

Acetaminophen is generally regarded as a safe antipyretic and analgetic agent and is widely used in cases of pregnancy. However, acetaminophen is also one of the most frequently reported medications in cases of drug overdose. On the other hand, in the few instances described in the literature, where normal doses of acetaminophen administered during pregnancy may have had a fatal outcome, evidence existed pointing to a history of liver disease. It is therefore of interest that the patient in this report who died of liver failure after ingesting standard doses of acetaminophen also suffered from intrahepatic cholestasis during pregnancy although there was no history of liver disease. Other than these instances, there have been no previous reports in the literature of a normal, therapeutic dose of acetaminophen having a fatal outcome in pregnancy. This case emphasizes the need for caution when prescribing acetaminophen during pregnancy to patients with a history of liver disease, regardless of whether the liver function has returned to normal.