Aspirin Hepatotoxicity and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation

A 17-year-old girl with a clinical diagnosis of adult-type juvenile rheumatoid arthritis developed a severe hepatotoxic reaction to 3.6 g of aspirin per day. This was associated with a microangiopathic anemia and transient congestive cardiac failure. She responded well to steroids, and when all laboratory test findings were back to normal, she was "challenged" with five divided doses of aspirin (total, 3.0 g). This produced a salicylate level of 9.1 g/dl and was associated with an immediate deterioration in liver function test findings and a return of microangiopathic blood features with elevation of fibrin split products and a prolonged prothrombin time. These changes were again reversed by promptly starting steroid therapy. This case suggests that disseminated intravascular coagulation, and its rare association with hepatotoxicity, is a potentially fatal side effect of aspirin therapy.