Energy drink link in liver failure

A case of acute liver failure has been linked to excessive consumption of energy drinks, a condition normally associated with drug-induced liver injury.

Researchers at the University of Florida College of Medicine have made the connection after a previously healthy 50-year-old man, who drank 4-5 energy drinks daily, was diagnosed with severe acute hepatitis.

“The development of acute hepatitis in this patient was likely secondary to excessive energy drink consumption,” researchers say in their study in BMJ Case Reports 2016.

The development of acute hepatitis is thought to be due to the daily consumption of high quantities of niacin or vitamin B3 present in energy drinks.

They recommend energy drinks, as well as other herbal/over-the-counter supplements, should be considered by clinicians when treating patients with acute hepatitis.

Read the full study here.

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