Putting in harm to cure: Drug related adverse events do not affect outcome of patients receiving treatment for multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis. Experience from a tertiary hospital in Italy

RATIONALE: Treatment of multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is challenging because it mostly relies on drugs with lower efficacy and greater toxicity than those used for drug-susceptible TB. OBJECTIVES: Aim of the study was to describe the frequency and type of adverse drug reactions in a cohort of MDR-TB patients and their potential impact on treatment outcome. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study in a cohort of MDR-TB patients enrolled at a tertiary referral hospital in Italy from January 2008 to December 2016. The records of patients were reviewed for epidemiological, clinical, microbiological and adverse drug reactions data. RESULTS: Seventy-four MDR-TB patients (mean age 32 years, 58.1% males, 2 XDR, 12 pre-XDR TB) were extracted from the Institute data base and included in the retrospective study cohort in the evaluation period (January 2008—December 2016). Median length of treatment duration was 20 months (IQR 14–24). Treatment outcome was successful in 57 patients (77%; 51 cured, 6 treatment completed); one patient died and one failed (2.7% overall); 15 patients were lost to follow-up (20.3%). Sixty-six (89.2%) presented adverse drug reactions during the whole treatment period. Total number of adverse drug reactions registered was 409. Three hundred forty-six (84.6%) were classified as adverse events (AEs) and 63 (15.4%) were serious AEs (SAEs). One third of the total adverse drug reactions (134/409; 32.8%) was of gastrointestinal origin, followed by 47/409 (11.5%) ototoxic drug reactions, thirty-five (8.6%) regarded central nervous system and 33 (8.1%) affected the liver. All 63 SAEs required treatment suspension with 61 SAEs out of 63 (96.8%) occurring during the first six months of treatment. Factors associated with unsuccessful treatment outcome were smoking (p = 0.039), alcohol abuse (p = 0.005) and homeless condition (p = 0.044). Neither the number of antitubercular drugs used in different combinations nor the number of AEs showed significant impact on outcome. Patients who completed the treatment experienced a greater number of AEs and SAEs (p < 0.001) if compared to lost to follow-up patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate that, despite the high frequency of adverse drug reactions and long term therapy, the clinical management of MDR-TB patients in a referral center could reach successful treatment according to WHO target, by implementing active and systematic clinical and laboratory assessment to detect, report and manage suspected and confirmed adverse drug reactions.