Halothane Hepatitis Revisited

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Abstract
Absolute documentation of the entity labeled halothane hepatitis remains impossible at best, and delineation of its pathogenesis is as will-o'-the-wispish as ever. A variety of causative mechanisms have been suggested over the years on the basis of studies in human beings and animals, including straightforward hypersensitivity,1 liver hypoxia,2 metabolic activation of halothane to destructive, reactive intermediates via a specific reductive pathway,3 metabolic activation with consequent metabolite—protein haptene formation possessing immunologic properties,4 and recrudescence of viral hepatitis; some workers have denied any association of liver damage with the anesthetic. Uncertainty about this issue has led to a great deal of anguish . . .