[Flecainide-induced hepatitis].

Flecainide was given to a patient in a dose of 150 mg twice daily to convert a newly developed atrial fibrillation; concomitant therapy was unchanged. After the fourth dose the patient complained of upper abdominal pain and nausea. GOT and GPT, normal at admission to the hospital, became markedly elevated and reached a maximum of 960 IU/I (GOT) and 993 IU/I (GPT) one day later, although the enzymes which indicate cholestasis remained at a normal level or did not increase. On the assumption of a drug-induced allergic reaction, flecainide was withdrawn, after which liver enzymes rapidly returned to control values. Although neither a reexposition with flecainide nor a liver biopsy was obtained, a flecainide-induced hepatitis seems probable.