Nitrofurantoin: another cause of drug-induced chronic active hepatitis? A report of a patient with HLA-B8 antigen.

Nitrofurantoin, an agent used extensively in chronic urinary tract infections, is rarely incriminated as a hepatotoxin. In this 27 year old women chronic active hepatitis first developed during exposures to nitrofurantoin, and she later suffered exacerbations. Earlier reported cases are reviewed which describe a spectrum of hepatotoxic reactions. This patient has HLA-B8, an antigen associated with autoimmune forms of chronic active hepatitis. It is postulated that the antigen may be associated with liver injury initiated by drugs such as nitrofurantoin.