Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Induced Hepatotoxicity and Associated Factors among Tuberculosis Patients at Selected Hospitals, Ethiopia.

Background: Tuberculosis caused by susceptible mycobacterium tuberculosis strains is effectively treated by the first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. However, most antibacterial drugs are known to induce hepatotoxicity which may limit their adherence and hence lead to the development of mycobacterial drug resistance.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of anti-tuberculosis drug induced hepatotoxicity and associated factors among tuberculosis patients of Debre Markos, Mota, and Bichena Hospitals.

Methods: The prospective cross sectional-study was conducted in three hospitals of East Gojjam zone by taking blood samples of new tuberculosis patients every 2 weeks for 2 months to measure the elevation of liver proteins indicating liver toxicity from the onset of starting therapy. A semi-structured questionnaire was also used to collect the socio-demographic data and factors of anti-tubeculosis drug induced liver toxicity. To identify factors associated with drug induced hepatotoxicity, binary logistic regression followed by multivariate analysis was applied at a statistically significant level of P<0.05.

Results: The incidence of hepatotoxicity among tuberculosis patients is 7.9%. Diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, having comorbid disease, and old age are significantly associated (P<0.05) with first-line antituberculosis drugs induced hepatotoxicity.

Conclusion: The incidence of hepatotoxicity is relatively high among tuberculosis patients taking first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. Therefore, the liver function of patients with old age, comorbid diseases, and extrapulmonary tuberculosis should be regularly monitored to reduce the severity of drug-induced hepatotoxicity.