Adverse Drug Reactions and Their Impact on the Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Background: Although there have been some reports about adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in pulmonary tuberculosis treatment, there are few detailed data and the effect of age among elderly patients on ADRs and the period of medication discontinuation due to ADRs is unknown. Purpose: We evaluated the difference in the incidence of ADRs necessitating discontinuation or a change of medication (dADR) among the different age groups and the period of discontinuation in elderly patients undergoing pulmonary tuberculosis treatment. Subjects and Methods: We conducted a retrospective medical record survey of patients who started anti-tuberculosis medication at our hospital from April 1st, 2018 to March 31st, 2020. Results: A total of 120 patients were recruited. There was no significant difference in the incidence of dADR among the different age groups every 10 years in patients ≥50 years of age (p=0.78). The median period of discontinuation was approximately 4 weeks for fever (29.5 days), approximately 3 weeks for rash (18.5 days), approximately 2 weeks for gastrointestinal disorders (16 days), and hepatocellular liver injury (15.5 days), and approximately 1 week for cholestatic liver injury (8 days) and eosinophilia (7 days). Conclusion: The incidence of dADR was not different among the age groups when patients of ≥50 years of age were compared by age. The median times of onset were 1–3 weeks after the start of treatment. The median periods of discontinuation were 1–4 weeks, and the period of discontinuation due to allergic reactions tended to be the longest