Undiagnosed Liver Failure

[JDavid]

My 14-year old Nephew is currently undiagnosed with liver failure.  He has been hospitalized for 7 weeks now and was at a point put on the waiting list for a liver transplant.  Effects of liver damage have been a attributed to brain swelling during a coma and a slow recovery period. He entered the hospital with severe vomitting and nausea with dehydration problems.  

My question is could his acute liver failure have been drug induced?  His local doctor gave him Phenergan and sent to a local hospital which also gave him another dose of Phenergan. This was followed, on the same day, by Zofran IV at the local hospital.  His condition did not improve and he was sent to Iowa City for further evaluation.

In looking at possible side effects of the above 2 drugs, I have noted liver failure as being a possibility, but rare according to the information.  I would appreciate any insight anyone may have on the possibility that the drug treatments may have caused his liver failure.

[Crystalcp2]

Here is a personal opinion, I don't know much about this personally but the meds they give to children is calculated differently to a child's dose and the drug is not tested in studies on children before it hits the market.

[JDavid]

Yes, they tested for Reye's Syndrome and had negative results.  The comma actually was drug-induced due to swelling in the brain and required treatments to relieve the pressure there.

Thanks for responding.

[mmfd]

I am sorry to hear about your nephew.  Phenergan is a very safe drug that has been around for decades.  It has drowsiness as the most common side effect, and if he only had a couple of doses I doubt very much if it caused anything.  Did they check for Reye's syndrome?  It can cause both liver failure and coma and is very serious.  It used to be a lot more common than it is now.  I think aspirin has been implicated in Reye's.