Acute Liver Injury Associated with Khat Use in a 24-Year-Old Male

Chewing khat leaves (Catha edulis) is common cultural practice in Eastern African countries. Khat has been implicated in cases of acute liver injury, sometimes leading to liver failure and requiring transplantation. We report the case of a 24-year-old gentleman presenting with symptoms of acute live...

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Main Authors: Mara Waters, Adam Oxner, Sigmund Krajden, Richard Sultanian
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Hepatology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/2816907
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author Mara Waters
Adam Oxner
Sigmund Krajden
Richard Sultanian
author_facet Mara Waters
Adam Oxner
Sigmund Krajden
Richard Sultanian
author_sort Mara Waters
collection DOAJ
description Chewing khat leaves (Catha edulis) is common cultural practice in Eastern African countries. Khat has been implicated in cases of acute liver injury, sometimes leading to liver failure and requiring transplantation. We report the case of a 24-year-old gentleman presenting with symptoms of acute liver failure. Bloodwork demonstrated hepatocyte-predominant liver injury. Microbiological and serological hepatitis panels were negative, and his liver biopsy demonstrated acute cholestatic hepatitis. He admitted to regular khat use for several years prior to his presentation. His liver function tests improved with cessation of khat use. This is the first reported case of acute khat-associated hepatitis in Canada. Considering cultural practices such as khat chewing in presentations of acute liver injury are important when caring for diverse patient populations.
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series Case Reports in Hepatology
spelling doaj-art-d9480412d09942e7afdceba6307bddea2025-08-20T02:20:57ZengWileyCase Reports in Hepatology2090-65872090-65952018-01-01201810.1155/2018/28169072816907Acute Liver Injury Associated with Khat Use in a 24-Year-Old MaleMara Waters0Adam Oxner1Sigmund Krajden2Richard Sultanian3Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDivision of Infectious Diseases, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDivision of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, CanadaChewing khat leaves (Catha edulis) is common cultural practice in Eastern African countries. Khat has been implicated in cases of acute liver injury, sometimes leading to liver failure and requiring transplantation. We report the case of a 24-year-old gentleman presenting with symptoms of acute liver failure. Bloodwork demonstrated hepatocyte-predominant liver injury. Microbiological and serological hepatitis panels were negative, and his liver biopsy demonstrated acute cholestatic hepatitis. He admitted to regular khat use for several years prior to his presentation. His liver function tests improved with cessation of khat use. This is the first reported case of acute khat-associated hepatitis in Canada. Considering cultural practices such as khat chewing in presentations of acute liver injury are important when caring for diverse patient populations.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/2816907
spellingShingle Mara Waters
Adam Oxner
Sigmund Krajden
Richard Sultanian
Acute Liver Injury Associated with Khat Use in a 24-Year-Old Male
Case Reports in Hepatology
title Acute Liver Injury Associated with Khat Use in a 24-Year-Old Male
title_full Acute Liver Injury Associated with Khat Use in a 24-Year-Old Male
title_fullStr Acute Liver Injury Associated with Khat Use in a 24-Year-Old Male
title_full_unstemmed Acute Liver Injury Associated with Khat Use in a 24-Year-Old Male
title_short Acute Liver Injury Associated with Khat Use in a 24-Year-Old Male
title_sort acute liver injury associated with khat use in a 24 year old male
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/2816907
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AT adamoxner acuteliverinjuryassociatedwithkhatuseina24yearoldmale
AT sigmundkrajden acuteliverinjuryassociatedwithkhatuseina24yearoldmale
AT richardsultanian acuteliverinjuryassociatedwithkhatuseina24yearoldmale