Hígado y terapia antituberculosa

Abstract

Liver toxicity in patients being treated with antituberculosis drugs is relatively uncommon, although transient elevation of liver enzymes is very common. Probably because of this there is not a good definition for liver toxicity. There are conditions in which hepatotoxicity is more frequent, such as elderly patients, alcohol consumption, malnutrition, use of certain drugs, and hypoalbuminemia. Pirazinamide, isoniazid and rifampicin are the antituberculosis drugs more commonly involved in liver toxicity. In this article we analyze the clinical problem of hepatotoxicity of antituberculosis therapy and propose the management of different situations. We discuss when a drug administration should be discontinued, how liver damage should be assesed and which alternative drugs should be used during the antituberculosis treatment.