Cited by 12Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity and ProtectionPharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug ReactionsComplementary and Alternative Medicine Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 27 of the 27 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 19 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Validation of the revised electronic version of RUCAM for diagnosis of DILI in Chinese patients

Open access

Abstract

Background & Aims: The Revised Electronic Causality Assessment Method (RECAM), a computerized update of the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Methodology (RUCAM), was recently proposed. In this study, we validated and compared the utility of the RECAM and RUCAM in Chinese patients with a single conventional or herbal agent-induced liver injury. Methods: In this retrospective multicenter cohort of well-established DILI and non-DILI patients from 5 centers in China, the diagnostic performance of the RUCAM and RECAM was compared by AUC analysis. The consistency was evaluated by weighted kappa. The major causes of discrepancy were explored. Results: A total of 481 DILI and 100 non-DILI patients were included. In total, 62.6% of the DILI cases were induced by conventional agents, and 37.4% were induced by herbs. The RECAM had relatively higher AUC than RUCAM for overall [0.947 (0.926–0.964) vs. 0.867 (0.836–0.893), p=0.0016], conventional agents [0.923 (0.890–0.949) vs. 0.819 (0.775–0.858), p=0.0185], and herbs [0.972 (0.941–0.989) vs.0.911 (0.866–0.944), p=0.0199]. Latency, scores associated with hepatitis B, and hepatotoxicity information of the insulting drugs were the 3 main causes for the inconsistency between RECAM and RUCAM scores. Conclusions: The RECAM had relatively better diagnostic performance than RUCAM, with a higher AUC for Chinese DILI patients. Timely updates of the LiverTox category and refinement of serum markers to exclude hepatitis B activity would further improve the applicability of RECAM in areas where the use of herbs and resolution of past HBV infections are common.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In a retrospective multicenter Chinese cohort of 481 DILI and 100 non-DILI patients, RECAM had higher AUC than RUCAM overall and in conventional-agent and herbal DILI subgroups. Discrepancies between RECAM and RUCAM were mainly attributed to latency, hepatitis B-related scoring, and LiverTox hepatotoxicity information.

Key findings

  • RECAM AUC was higher than RUCAM overall [0.947 (0.926–0.964) vs. 0.867 (0.836–0.893), p=0.0016], for conventional agents [0.923 (0.890–0.949) vs. 0.819 (0.775–0.858), p=0.0185], and for herbs [0.972 (0.941–0.989) vs. 0.911 (0.866–0.944), p=0.0199].
  • Among DILI cases, 62.6% were induced by conventional agents and 37.4% by herbs; RECAM graded 68.2% as highly probable vs. 18.7% by RUCAM, while among non-DILI cases 46% were unlikely/excluded by RECAM vs. 38% by RUCAM.
  • Overall agreement between RUCAM and RECAM was not good (weighted kappa 0.54 [0.41–0.67]); most discrepancy was RUCAM-probable cases upgraded to RECAM highly probable [247/394 (62.7%)].
  • Main causes of inconsistency were latency, scores associated with hepatitis B, and hepatotoxicity information of the implicated drugs; 84 patients received a RECAM score of −3 due to lack of anti-HBc IgM results.

Methods

  • Retrospective multicenter cohort from 5 centers in China (Beijing Friendship Hospital, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, 905th Hospital of PLA Navy, General Hospital of Eastern Theater Command), reviewing hospitalized patients from January 2015 to December 2021; final sample 581 patients (481 DILI, 100 non-DILI).
  • DILI cases required adults ≥18 years, acute liver injury meeting ALT/ALP/total bilirubin criteria, a single implicated conventional drug or one of four well-documented hepatotoxic herbals (Polygonum multiflorum radix, Psoralen, Cortex dictamni, Scutellariae radix), key data for RECAM/RUCAM scoring, and ≥182 days follow-up; diagnoses were verified by 3 senior hepatologists.
  • Diagnostic performance was compared by AUC (DeLong method), agreement by weighted kappa, correlation by Spearman rho, and major causes of discrepancy were explored.

Limitations

  • The paper states that the retrospective design required excluding many patients with missing key data, which may cause residual selection bias and may be related to the relatively high RECAM AUC.
  • The paper states that only single-agent DILI cases were included, so conclusions may not be extrapolated to cases with more than one implicated agent, including mixed conventional and herbal preparations.
  • The paper states that patients were not scored independently by 3 hepatologists, so interuser variance between RECAM and RUCAM scoring was not explored; further studies of ease of use with quantifiable indicators are needed. Evident from the text: reproducibility across users and applicability to polypharmacy/mixed exposures remain unquantified.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1097/hc9.0000000000000235

Cites

27 of 27 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Figures

FIGURE 1 Flowchart. Abbreviations: EBV, epstein-barr virus; RECAM, Revised Electronic Causality Assessment Method; RUCAM, Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Methodology.
FIGURE 1 Flowchart. Abbreviations: EBV, epstein-barr virus; RECAM, Revised Electronic Causality Assessment Method; RUCAM, Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Methodology.CC BY-NC-ND · PubMed Central
FIGURE 2 Implicated drugs of liver-induced liver injury. Abbreviation: NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
FIGURE 2 Implicated drugs of liver-induced liver injury. Abbreviation: NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.CC BY-NC-ND · PubMed Central
FIGURE 3 AUC of RECAM and RUCAM. A. Total: RECAM: 0.947 (0.926 to 0.964), RUCUM: 0.867 (0.836 to 0.893), P =0.0016. B. Conventional agents: RECAM: 0.923 (0.890 to 0.949), RUCAM: 0.819 (0.775 to 0.858), P =0.0185. C. Herbals: RECUM: 0.972 (0.941 to 0.989), RUCAM: 0.911 (0.866 to 0.944), P =0.0199. Abbreviations: AUC, area under the curve; RECAM, Revised Electronic Causality Assessment Method; RUCAM, Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Methodology.
FIGURE 3 AUC of RECAM and RUCAM. A. Total: RECAM: 0.947 (0.926 to 0.964), RUCUM: 0.867 (0.836 to 0.893), P =0.0016. B. Conventional agents: RECAM: 0.923 (0.890 to 0.949), RUCAM: 0.819 (0.775 to 0.858), P =0.0185. C. Herbals: RECUM: 0.972 (0.941 to 0.989), RUCAM: 0.911 (0.866 to 0.944), P =0.0199. Abbreviations: AUC, area under the curve; RECAM, Revised Electronic Causality Assessment Method; RUCAM, Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Methodology.CC BY-NC-ND · PubMed Central
FIGURE 4 Changes in diagnosed categories based on RUCAM and RECAM. A. Total; B. Conventional agents; C. Herbals. Abbreviations: RECAM, Revised Electronic Causality Assessment Method; RUCAM, Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Methodology.
FIGURE 4 Changes in diagnosed categories based on RUCAM and RECAM. A. Total; B. Conventional agents; C. Herbals. Abbreviations: RECAM, Revised Electronic Causality Assessment Method; RUCAM, Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Methodology.CC BY-NC-ND · PubMed Central
Image 5
CC BY-NC-ND · PubMed Central

Verification

Claims the paper makes

55 Own result · 17 Own interpretation · 7 Not checked yet · 5 Own method · 4 Sources not found · 2 No basis given

Verify all 15 references — free account
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 37
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 15
45 of 45
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    DILI is a diagnosis of exclusion due to the absence of specific biomarkers.

    “With variable clinical manifestations and outcomes, DILI is a diagnosis of exclusion due to the absence of specific biomarkers.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The expert diagnoses made by three senior hepatologists are a valid reference standard for DILI and non-DILI.

    “The diagnoses of DILI were verified by 3 senior hepatologists based on medical history, laboratory data, and clinical course.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The included Chinese patients are representative of Chinese DILI patients.

    “In this study, we validated and compared the utility of the RECAM and RUCAM in Chinese patients with a single conventional or herbal agent-induced liver injury.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The RECAM −6 score indicates an alternate diagnosis rather than DILI.

    “The RECAM sets a −6 score as a warning of alternate diagnosis rather than DILI.”
4 of 4

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4 of 4

Citations

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Metadata

Authors
Zhao, X., Wang, Y., Lai, R., Wang, X., Yu, Y., Li, M., Zhao, H., Ma, Z., Li, M., Guo, T., Han, X., Meng, Y., Zhang, M., Su, Y., Hao, K., Deng, Y., Kong, Y., Li, Z., Xie, Q., Xie, W., Chen, C., & Jia, J.
Affiliations
  • Capital Medical University (CN)
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
  • Liver Disease Research Center, 905th Hospital of PLA Navy, China
  • Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine (CN)
Corresponding author
  • Li, Min
  • Li, Mengqi
  • Li, Zhenyu
  • Xie, Qing
  • Xie, Wen
  • Chen, Chengwei
  • Jia, Jidong
Venue
Hepatology Communications
Published
2024-03-11
Volume
8
Issue
4
ISSN
2471-254X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4392638131
Cited by
12
References
27
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 2
FWCI
2.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Hepatology Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Protection
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Toxicology › Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reactions
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies
Keywords
drug-induced liver injury, RUCAM, causality assessment, diagnostic accuracy, Chinese patients, hepatitis B, hepatotoxicity
MeSH terms
China, Electronics, Hepatitis B, Humans, Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury

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