Korean J Intern Med.  2019 Sep;34(5):1050-1057. 10.3904/kjim.2018.063.

Cutaneous adverse drug reactions in patients with peripheral blood eosinophilia during antituberculosis treatment

• Kim TO
• Shin HJ
• Kim YI
• Lim SC
• Koh YI
• Kwon YS

• KMID: 2457028
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2018.063

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Peripheral eosinophilia during tuberculosis (TB) treatment is common, but has not been fully evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and clinical significance of peripheral blood eosinophilia in patients undergoing anti-TB treatment.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and laboratory data of patients who received anti-TB treatment and had peripheral blood eosinophilia (> 5% of the total white blood cell count) at the Chonnam National University Hospital between January 2010 and December 2014.
RESULTS
Of all 2,234 patients with TB who received anti-TB treatment, 397 (17.8%) had peripheral blood eosinophilia. Of the 397 with eosinophilia, we reviewed the data of 262 (66%), and cutaneous adverse drug reactions (CADRs) were observed in 161 (61.5%). Of the 161 with CADRs, itching (47.2%) and skin rash (47.8%) were common. Older age, abnormal liver function, and higher peak blood eosinophil percentage were associated with CADRs in multivariate analysis. There was a significant relationship between increased peak eosinophil counts and the degree of severity of CADRs.
CONCLUSIONS
Peripheral blood eosinophilia is a relatively common occurrence during anti-TB treatment. Peripheral blood eosinophil counts were higher according to the degree of severity of CADRs.

Keyword

Drug-related side effects and adverse reactions; Antitubercular agents; Drug eruptions; Eosinophilia

MeSH Terms

Antitubercular Agents
Drug Eruptions
Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions*
Eosinophilia*
Eosinophils
Exanthema
Humans
Jeollanam-do
Leukocytes
Liver
Multivariate Analysis
Prevalence
Pruritus
Retrospective Studies
Tuberculosis
Antitubercular Agents