[Adverse reactions to antitubercular treatment with rifampin (Considerations on 14 cases]

Abstract

An analysis of a group of 120 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis undergoing rifampicin treatment attempted to perform a study of adverse reactions induced by this drug used in modern therapeutic regimens of short duration (6 to 9 months). This was prompted by the increasing number of papers in the specialized literature concerned with such adverse reactions that occur in 10--50 percent of all cases treated with rifampicin. Adverse reactions to rifampicin (influenza-like syndrome, digestive syndrome, hepatic syndrome) were relatively rare in the group presented here (11,8 percent), when compared with the data in the literature. Although no severe adverse reactions occured, suppression of rifampicin therapy was necessary in most of the cases, and this modified the efficiency of the treatment. This low incidence has however a statistical significance indicating that larger groups should be investigated.