Abstract:
The purpose of this retrospective - analytical research, unmatched case -control was to determine the rate and risk factors of hepatotoxicity in tuberculosis inpatients at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. The patients who received three antituberculosis drugs (i.e., isoniazid, rifampicin and/or pyrazinamide) were studied. Data were collected between 1998 and 2000 from the patient charts. Six hundred and sixty four patients were selected from 1,062 tuberculosis inpatients based on the inclusion criteria. Sixty-one patients (9.2%) were recorded as having hepatotoxicity from the drugs. Of 61 hepatotoxicity patients, 42 were male (68.9%) and 19 were female (31.1%) with the mean age+-SD of 48.3+-20.7 years. The mean+-SD onset of hepatotoxicity was 20.92+-18.51 days and liver function test returned to normal level within 18.7+-14.1 days after drug discontinuation. Six risk factors were found to be associated with hepatotoxicity from antituberculosis drugs i.e., age >= 35 years [odds ratio (OR) = 2.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.33-4.85], albumin level < 3.5 gram/ liter (OR = 3.1, 95% CI = 1.01-9.22), concomittant diseases >= 2 (OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.09-5.48), concomittant use of reported hepatotoxicity drugs >= 1 items (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.16-4.03), receiving dose of rifampicin higher than normal (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.04-3.95) and receiving dose of pyrazinamide higher than normal (OR = 4.0, 95% CI = 1.04-15.71).