A nomogram model to predict the risk of drug-induced liver injury in patients receiving anti-tuberculosis treatment

Objectives: To establish an individualized nomogram to predict the probability of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in tuberculosis patients receiving anti-tuberculosis treatment. Methods: The clinical information of patients admitted to a tertiary hospital between January 2010 and December 2022 was retrospectively reviewed from the clinical records. Patients with baseline liver diseases (hepatis B or C infection and fatty liver) or taking liver protective drugs were excluded. The maximum values in liver function test within 180 days after anti-tuberculosis treatment were collected to determine the occurrence of DILI. The candidate variables used for establishing prediction model in this study were the last results within the 30 days before the treatment onset. The final variables were included after univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses and applied to establish the nomogram model. The discrimination power and prediction accuracy of the prediction model were assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) curve and a calibration chart. The clinical effectiveness was assessed via decision curve analysis (DCA). The established model was validated in two validation groups. Results: A total of 1979 patients with 25 variables were enrolled in this study, and the incidence of DILI was 4.2% (n = 83). The patients with complete variables were divided into training group (n = 1,121), validation group I (n = 492) and validation group II (n = 264). Five variables were independent factors for DILI and included in the final prediction model presented as nomogram: age (odds ratio [OR] 1.022, p = 0.023), total bilirubin ≥17.1 μmol/L (OR 11.714, p < 0.001), uric acid (OR 0.977, p = 0.047), neutrophil count (OR 2.145, 0.013) and alcohol consumption (OR 3.209, p = 0.002). The AUCs of the prediction model in the training group, validation group I and validation group II were 0.833, 0.668, and 0.753, respectively. The p-values of calibration charts in the three groups were 0.800, 0.996, and 0.853. The DCA curves of the prediction model were above the two extreme curves. Conclusion: The nomogram model in this study could effectively predict the DILI risk among patients under anti-tuberculosis drug treatment.