Hepatotoxicity induced by antituberculosis drugs among patients coinfected with HIV and tuberculosis

Hepatotoxicity due to antituberculosis drugs limits treatment in patients coinfected with HIV and tuberculosis. We conducted a case-control study to identify risk factors for hepatotoxicity among patients coinfected with tuberculosis and HIV in two hospitals in Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil. The sample consisted of 57 patients (36.5% of the total) who developed hepatotoxicity and a control group of 99 patients (63.5% of the total), who did not present this effect. Hepatotoxicity consisted of jaundice or a high concentration of AST/ALT or total bilirubinemia. Multivariate logistic regression showed that a T CD4+ count of < 200 cells/mm(3) increased the risk of hepatotoxicity by a factor of 1.233 (p < 0.001) and that coinfection with hepatitis B or C virus increased this risk by a factor of 18.187 (p = 0.029). Discharge occurred among 66.1% of the case group (p = 0.026). The absence of hepatotoxicity was a protective factor against death (OR = 0.42; 95%CI: 0.20-0.91). Coinfection with the B and C hepatitis virus and a T CD4+ cell count below 200 cells/mm(3) were independent risk factors for hepatotoxicity in these patients.