CIOMS/RUCAM scale
The CIOMS/RUCAM scale is a tool to predict whether liver damage can be attributed to a particular medication.
CIOMS/RUCAM scale | |
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Purpose | ascertain if liver problems are due to medication |
Hepatotoxicity
Determining hepatotoxicity (toxic effects of a substance on the liver) remains a major challenge in clinical practice due to lack of reliable markers.[1] Many other conditions lead to similar clinical as well as pathological picture. To diagnose hepatotoxicity, a causal relationship between the use of the toxin or drug and subsequent liver damage has to be established, but might be difficult, especially when idiosyncratic reaction is suspected.[2] Simultaneous use of multiple drugs may add to the complexity. As in acetaminophen toxicity, well established dose dependent pharmacological hepatotoxicity is easier to spot.
Interpretation
The CIOMS/RUCAM scale has been proposed to establish causal relationship between offending drug and liver damage. The CIOMS/RUCAM scale involves a scoring system which categorizes the suspicion into "definite or highly probable" (score > 8), "probable" (score 6-8), "possible" (score 3-5), "unlikely" (score 1-2) and "excluded" (score ≤ 0). In clinical practice physicians put more emphasis on the presence or absence of similarity between the biochemical profile of the patient and known biochemical profile of the suspected toxicity ( e.g. cholestatic damage in amoxycillin-clauvonic acid ).[1]
References
- Andrade RJ, Robles M, Fernández-Castañer A, López-Ortega S, López-Vega MC, Lucena MI (2007). "Assessment of drug-induced hepatotoxicity in clinical practice: a challenge for gastroenterologists". World J. Gastroenterol. 13 (3): 329–40. doi:10.3748/wjg.v13.i3.329. PMC 4065885. PMID 17230599.
- Arundel C, Lewis JH (2007). "Drug-induced liver disease in 2006". Curr. Opin. Gastroenterol. 23 (3): 244–54. doi:10.1097/MOG.0b013e3280b17dfb. PMID 17414839.