Improving the Diagnostic Accuracy of RECAM in North American Patients with Suspected Idiosyncratic Drug-Induced Liver Injury: Improving RECAM accuracy.

Background: The RECAM is an updated, electronic version of the RUCAM to diagnose DILI. The primary aim of this study was to compare RECAM versus RUCAM in patients with suspected DILI.
Methods: Patient encounters from 10/1/2015 to 9/30/2019 were searched for suspected DILI using ICD-10 K71 codes for toxic liver disease. DILIN expert opinion scores were assigned to each case (1/2/3= probable DILI, 4/5= non-DILI). RECAM and RUCAM scores were compared with DILIN expert opinion scores.
Results: Among 766,930 encounters searched, 120 unique patients met inclusion criteria with 72 (60%) adjudicated as probable-DILI. The most frequent suspect drugs were antimicrobials (38.3%), antineoplastics (8.3%), and antirheumatic drugs (8.3%). Mean age was 49.2 + 15.6 years and 50% were female with 45.8% having hepatocellular injury. RUCAM had better agreement with DILIN expert opinion for probable-DILI versus RECAM (66.7% vs. 44.4%, p=0.018). Both had 100% agreement with DILIN expert opinion for non-DILI. Frequently missing laboratory data included HCV RNA (64.3%) and anti-HEV IgM testing (70%), leading to loss of up to 6 points in RECAM scoring but not impacting RUCAM scores. A modified RECAM that made HCV RNA and anti-HEV IgM optional had better agreement with DILIN expert opinion compared to RUCAM (79.2% vs. 66.7%, p=0.09).
Conclusion: Among 120 suspected DILI cases, RUCAM had better agreement with DILIN expert opinion scores versus RECAM. Making HCV RNA and anti-HEV IgM testing optional significantly improved agreement between RECAM and DILIN expert opinion. Future modifications to RECAM are needed to improve causality assessment in North American patients with suspected DILI.
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