Citation

Panetta M, Brightmore A, Waring WS. Acute Med. 2019; 18(3): 192-196.

Affiliation

Acute Medical Unit, York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Rila Publications)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

31536058

Abstract

Chloroform is a recognised cause of acute liver injury, although now rarely encountered in clinical practice. We present a case of inhalational chloroform self-poisoning in a 47-year-old man that presented to hospital initially with reduced conscious level and later developed acute liver injury that was treated with intravenous acetylcysteine. This paper reviews the existing literature and presents a summary of the mechanisms of chloroform hepatotoxicity. Published cases show that there is a characteristic delay of 24 to 48 hours between chloroform exposure and elevation of liver transaminase activity. Therefore, clinicians need to provide an appropriate duration of monitoring in order to detect the occurrence of this important toxic effect.

Language: en