Abstract:Objective To analyze the clinical features and causes of non-viral liver injury in elderly patients and improve the diagnosis and treatment. Methods Sixty-two aged patients(≥60 years) with abnormal liver function due to non-viral causes(instead of HAV~HEV, HSV, CMV, EBV and CSV) who were admitted to our hospital from January 2006 to June 2009 were analyzed retrospectively. The clinical data of these patients were compared with that of 98 non-aged patients (<60 years). Results There was no special symptom in aged patients and the incidences of fatigue, nausea, and jaundice in aged patients were significantly higher than those in non-aged patients. In aged patients, 25 cases were diagnosed as drug-induced liver disease(DILD, 40.32%) which ranked first, 13 cases as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD, 20.97%), 11 cases as gallbladder disease (17.74%), and 6 cases were induced by cardiopulmonary insufficiency(9.68%). The serum levels of ALT and AST were highest in DILD. Compared with non-aged patients, the serum levels of ALT and AST were significantly higher in aged patients [ALT: (775.83±478.51) vs (526.44±401.54)U/L, AST: (663.61±464.85) vs (457.45±521.78)U/L; P<0.01]. The main agents causing DILD in the elderly included herbal medicine(40%), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(12%) and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors(12%). Conclusion DILD is the most common non-viral liver disease in elerly patients, followed by NAFLD and gallbladder disease caused liver injury. Clinicians should pay more attention to DILD in the elderly.