US doctors have renewed warnings about energy drinks after an elderly patient in palliative care developed an acute kidney injury (AKI) and acute hepatitis while subsisting on the controversial beverages.

The 62-year-old woman was admitted to the in-patient unit of The Centre for Hospice and Palliative Care in Cheektowaga, New York, after several days of progressive confusion, fatigue, poor sleep, decreased intake, nausea and vomiting.

The woman had been enrolled in hospice care for four months, after discontinuing treatment for small cell carcinoma of the left lung, and it was initially thought her symptoms were most likely due to progression of her cancer, doctors reported in Journal of Medical Case Reports.

But she continued to decline, developing diaphoresis, decreased level of consciousness, increased weakness, and lethargy.