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  • People aged above 65 treated for latent tuberculosis are at increased risk of admission for a hepatic event compared with untreated controls

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Aetiology
Cohort study
People aged above 65 treated for latent tuberculosis are at increased risk of admission for a hepatic event compared with untreated controls
  1. Philip LoBue
  1. Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  1. Correspondence to Philip LoBue
    Mail Stop E-10, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30338, USA; plobue{at}cdc.gov

https://doi.org/10.1136/ebmed-2011-0014

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    Commentary on: Smith BM, Schwartzman K, Bartlett G, et al. Adverse events associated with treatment of latent tuberculosis in the general population. CMAJ 2011;183:E173–9.OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text

    Context

    Treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is an important tuberculosis prevention and control strategy, especially in high-resource countries. The effectiveness of LTBI treatment, which usually consists of isoniazid (also known as isonicotinylhydrazine (INH)) for 6–9 months, is limited by poor patient adherence because of long treatment duration and adverse effects. The most common serious adverse effect of INH is hepatotoxicity, which increases with age and can be fatal.1 A meta-analysis of six studies found that the pooled rate of INH-associated hepatotoxicity was 0.6%.2

    Methods

    Smith and colleagues conducted a population-based evaluation of serious adverse events of LTBI treatment in Quebec, Canada. Data were abstracted from administrative databases of the government …

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    Footnotes

    • Disclaimer The findings and conclusions in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    • Competing interests None.