BACKGROUND: Since the epidemiological profile of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in China, especially the western of China, it has rarely been studied. The aim of this study was to analyze the characteristics of DILI patients in a large tertiary teaching hospital at Chongqing, a municipality in western China.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The medical records of hospitalized patients which diagnosed with DILI between January 2011 and December 2016 were searched retrospectively, and demographic, clinical data, and laboratory data were retrieved for analysis.

RESULTS: A total of 1811 patients had been diagnosed with DILI, accounting for 0.248% of the total admissions during the same period. Among the 1096 patients included in our analysis, DILI was caused by “medications” in 462 cases (42.15%), “herbs” in 391 cases (35.68%), and combined medications in 189 cases (17.24%). The profiles for each etiology were distinctive for age, sex, clinical features, laboratory features, and types and severity of DILI.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides a systematic etiological profile of DILI in Chinese patients, which can represent references for prevention, diagnosis and treatment, supporting and promoting efforts to ease the burden of this liver disease in China.

Keywords: drug-induced liver injury, herbal medicine, Adolescent, Aged, 80 and over, Child, Child, Preschool, Cost of Illness, Drug Therapy, Combination, Hospitals, Teaching, Liver, Patient Admission, Severity of Illness Index, Tertiary Care Centers, young adult