ADVERSE DRUG REACTION MONITORING IN DRUG SENSITIVE TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to rank among the world’s most serious health problems despite the remarkable biomedical achievements. The objective of the study is to describe and characterize the adverse drug reactions associated with Anti Tubercular Therapy (ATT) in a tertiary care hospital. This was a cross sectional study done in the Department of Thoracic medicine, Government Medical College Krishnagiri between May 2023 and July 2023(3 months). Around 240 patients taking anti-tubercular drugs were screened and 98 patients (40.8%) among them were found to have adverse reactions to the therapy. Incidence of ADR was highest (8.3%) among (21-30) and (51-60) age groups. Among the type of detected adverse drug reactions induced by anti-TB drugs, gastritis (8.3%) was the most common, followed by rash (5%), hepatitis (4.2%) with hard of hearing (0.8%) and vision abnormality (0.8%) being the least common. Causality assessment revealed around 64 ADRs (26.7%) had possible relation to the drug usage. severity assessment of ADRs induced by ATT revealed mild in 52 patients (21.7%), moderate in 44 patients (18.3%) and severe in 2 patients (0.8%). Regarding the various modes of management in patients with ADR induced by ATT, around 42 patients (17.5%) with ADR continued the same medication with reassurance alone and only in 10 patients (4.2%), the current regimen was discontinued and was substituted with an another drug.