U.S. Poison Center Liver Injury Calls Jump 400% to 52.9 per Million, Led by Acetaminophen
Updated
Updated · BIOENGINEER.ORG · Aug 13
U.S. Poison Center Liver Injury Calls Jump 400% to 52.9 per Million, Led by Acetaminophen
2 articles · Updated · BIOENGINEER.ORG · Aug 13
Summary
220,160 poison-center reports linked medications, alcohol, supplements and other xenobiotics to liver injury from 2000 to 2024, with the population-adjusted rate rising from 10.9 to 52.9 cases per million.
More than 80% of reported cases required inpatient care, and researchers said the increase points to clinically serious exposures rather than minor reactions.
Acetaminophen was the most frequently implicated substance: injuries tied to combination prescription products fell 60% to 85% after FDA limits, but cases involving acetaminophen alone kept climbing.
Alcohol ranked second and rose in both sexes during the COVID-19 pandemic, while reports involving stimulants, illicit drugs, supplements and environmental toxins also increased.
UVA Health researchers said poison-center data are not a complete national registry, but they can flag shifting toxic-exposure patterns early and inform labeling, medication-safety and supplement-oversight efforts.