Severe hepatotoxicity from Escherichia coli L-asparaginase.

A 51-year-old black woman with diabetes mellitus developed severe hepatotoxicity after receiving high-dose L-asparaginase (Elspar) for acute lymphatic leukemia. Patients with diabetes should be given this drug cautiously. Glutaminase-free L-asparaginase from Vibrio succinogenes has been reported to be less hepatotoxic in mice; it might be a safer product for this group of patients.