Background: Allergy to antitubercular drugs is a real hindrance to the management of TB.
Aim: To access the contribution of the reintroduction drug test in the exploration of allergy to anti-tuberculosis treatments.
Methods: Retrospective study of 34 patients treated for tuberculosis who presented a hypersensitivity reaction during a period from January 2011 to December 2017.
Results: Our study included 31 women (91%) and three men (9%). The average age was 37 years old. The average time to onset of allergic manifestations compared to the start of TB treatment was 23± 19 days (1-85). They were dominated by cutaneous involvement (76.4%). The reintroduction test achieved in 27 patients, allowed to make the diagnosis of allergy to pyrazinamide in 12 patients (44.4%), to Rifampicin in five cases (18.5%), to Ethambutol in one case (3.7%) and isoniazid in one patient (3.7%). A polyallergy was noted in six patients (22.2%). The average time to onset of these reactions was five hours [15mn-90h]. The drug incriminated in the allergy was stopped definitively in 18 patients or 52.9%. It was substituted by a drug of first line in two patients (5.8%) and a second-line drug in three patients (8.8%). Drug dependence was achieved in five patients. It concerned Isoniazid in one patient, Rifampicin in three patients, pyrazinamide in two patients. It allowed the reintroduction of the allergenic treatment noted in two patients. The evolution of tuberculosis was favorable in 26 cases (77%).
Conclusion: The identification of the allergenic drug is the key to establishing a new protocol for effective anti-tuberculosis treatment that is less risky for hypersensitivity.