Painkiller linked to hepatitis

The Medical Journal of Australia has reported that the pain killer methoxyflurane or Penthrox may be causing hepatitis. Drs Kacey O’Rourke, Stuart McMaster and Karin Lust write: “Although unproven, it is possible that our patient’s repeated exposure to the drug may have contributed to the development of hepatitis through dose-dependent toxicity”. The article, A case of hepatitis attributable to repeated exposure to methoxyflurane during its use for procedural analgesia, appears in Volume 194, Number 8 of the MJA. The American Food and Drug Administration banned methoxyflurane in 2005 because it was associated with serious, irreversible and even fatal kidney and liver damage. Penthrox was added to the Australian Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits last year.