Background: Rifampicin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide are oral essential anti-tuberculosis drugs on single or combined preparations. Worldwide research has shown that the plasma concentration of anti-tuberculosis drugs with daily therapeutic doses were seen significant lower than permitted in tuberculosis patients, especially for rifampicin and isoniazid. Objective: To investigate plasma concentration of rifampicin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide in pulmonary tuberculosis and pleural tuberculosis patients. Methods: Determine plasma concentration of rifampicin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide at 2 hours after administration in 168 tuberculosis patients by the HPLC method. Identify prevalence of low plasma concentrations of anti-tuberculosis drugs. Results: There was a wide range of plasma concentration of rifampicin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide in the tuberculosis patients. The mean plasma concentration of rifampicin was 6.13 \xb1 4.66 microgram/ml, of isoniazid was 2.99 \xb1 1.94 microgram/ml, pyrazinamide was 38.98 \xb1 18.39 microgram/ml. There was no significant differences in the plasma concentration of rifampicin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide in groups of pulmonary tuberculosis and pleural tuberculosis patients. Percentage of patients with plasma concentration below therapeutic concentration was 76.83% of rifampicin, 51.85% of isoniazid, 10.13% of pyrazinamide. There were 12.03% of patients who had pyrazinamide concentration higher than the therapeutic range. Conclusions: There was a wide range of plasma concentration in rifampicin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide of tuberculosis patients. Low plasma concentration of rifampicin and isoniazid are common. It may be necessary to optimize the drug dose by therapeutic drug monitoring, especially in patients with an inadequate clinical response to chemotherapy.
tuberculosis ; rifampicin ; isoniazid ; pyrazinamide

A marked low concentration of serum uric acid(0.7-1.2mg/dl) was detected in a 14-year-old boy with recurrent episodes of gross hematuria. The hypouricemia accompanied with a markedly increased urinary clearance of uric acid (32.6-56.0ml/min), which was only minimally changed after both the administration of pyrazinamide, and inhibitor of the renal tubular secretion of uric acid, and the administration of probenecid, and inhibitor of the renal tubular reabsorption of uric acid. Other renal tubular functions were normal. There were no other family members with hypouricemia. Thies is the first case report of isolated renal hypouricemia due to presecretory reabsorption defect of uric acid in the renal proximal tubule in Korea. And renal hypouricemia should be included in the diagnosis of hematuria.
Adolescent ; Diagnosis ; Hematuria* ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Probenecid ; Pyrazinamide ; Uric Acid

Drug-induced thrombocytopenia and purpura have boon developed by many various agents. Rifampin and Pyrazinamide have been known as bactericidal antituberculous drugs, but, the above side effects have been a problem. Especially, hematologic side effects art fatal to patients occasionally. Rifampin-induced thrombocytopenia and purpura have been well known, also, pyrazinamide-induced thrombocytopenia have been reported. A new quilonone agent Ciprofloxacin, has been commonly used in clinics now, but it's side effects are not known well. So, we report a case of a 23-year-old female with thrombocytopenia and purpura after taking Rifampin, Pyrazinamide, and Ciprofloxacin as antituberculous agents.
Ciprofloxacin* ; Female ; Humans ; Purpura* ; Pyrazinamide* ; Rifampin ; Thrombocytopenia* ; Young Adult

A HPLC method has been used to quantify plasma rifampicin and isoniazid and pyrazinamide simultaneously. Extraction of rifampicin in plasma samples was done as follows: mix 1ml of plasma containing rifampicin and 1.5 ml acetonitril on a vortex mixer for 1 minute prior to centrifugation at 3500 rpm for 30 minutes. The organic layer was filtered through 0.45m filter membrane and then 30l of this solution was injected into the HPLC system. The chromatographic conditions were as follows: in stationary phase: column: Apollo Alltech RP18 (250 x 4.6 mm; 5 m); in mobile phase: methanol - phosphate buffet solution containing 0.02M potassium dihydrogen phosphate adjusted to pH 4.5 by adding phosphoric acid (65: 35); Flow rate: 1.0 ml/min and UV detector: 254 nm
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; lasma ; Pyrazinamide ; Isoniazid ; Rifampin

The study was conducted to compare bioavailability of rifampicin at the same doses with and without isoniazid and pyrazinamide in the standard separate tablets in 12 healthy volunteers. Bioavailability of rifampicin was estimated by plasma concentration of rifampicin from 0h to 24h after administration. Plasma rifampicin concentration was determined by HPLC method. The results revealed that Cmax and AUC for rifampicin was reduced (31.24% and 25.95%, respectively) when rifampicin - isoniazid - pyrazinamide was administeredat the same time. It was concluded that bioavailability of rifampicin was affected by presence of isoniazid and pyrazinamide.
Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant ; Pyrazinamide ; Rifampin ; Biological ; Availability

INTRODUCTION: Development of drug resistance is one of the most important barriers in achieving global control of tuberculosis (TB). Continuous surveillance, such as observation of susceptibility and resistance patterns to anti-TB drugs, together with nationwide programs aimed at TB case identification, treatment and control, physician and patient education, is a valuable tool in the goal towards reducing TB prevalence and mortality.
OBJECTIVE: It is the aim of this study to determine the prevalence rate and resistance pattern of  first line anti-tuberculosis drugs in a tertiary hospital in Manila, Philippines
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Records of specimens submitted for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) culture and sensitivity, using BACTEC TM MGIT TM 960 SIRE Kit and PZA Kit, at the Section of Clinical Pathology, University of Santo Tomas Hospital, were reviewed. Isolates cultured for MTB were subjected to sensitivity studies to rifampicin (R),isoniazid (H), ethambutol (E), pyrazinamide (Z) and streptomycin (S).
RESULTS: A total of 546 specimens were cultured for MTB and sent for sensitivity studies. Majority of the specimens were from pulmonary sources (77%). Overall resistance rate was 52.38% (n=286). One-drug resistance was 23.26% (n= 127; highest with R followed by H); two-drug resistance was 15.38% (n=84; highest with H-R); three-drug resistance was 8.61% (n=47; highest with H-R-E and H-R-S); four-drug resistance was 4.58% (n=25; highest with H-R-E-S) and five-drug resistance (H-R-E-S-Z) rate was 0.55% (n=3). 
CONCLUSION: The University of Santo Tomas Hospital, as a referral facility, is encountering an increasing number of drug-resistant tuberculosis from 2003 to 2013.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Ethambutol ; Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ; Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide, Rifampin Drug Combination ; Pyrazinamide ; Isoniazid ; Rifampin ; Streptomycin ; Pathology, Clinical ; Tuberculosis

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical treatment of incidentally detected, asymptomatic, unilateral nonfunctioning tuberculous kidney. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-three patients with incidentally detected, asymptomatic, unilateral nonfunctioning kidney, negative urine AFB culture and radiologic diagnosis of renal tuberculosis were reviewed. They were divided into three groups: surgical, medical, and observation groups. Twelve patients in the surgical group were nephrectomized at initial diagnosis. Eleven patients in the medical group received anti-tuberculous medication with isoniazid, rifampin, and pyrazinamide for 4 months. Ten patients in the observation group remained under observation. RESULTS: There was no evidence of decreased renal function or recurrence of renal tuberculosis in the surgical and medical groups. Pathologic confirmation of renal tuberculosis was obtained in all nephrectomy patients. The follow-up loss rate of the surgical group (7.7%) was lower than that of the other groups (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Nephrectomy is more acceptable than either medicine or observation. (1) Because preoperative chemotherapy was not justified in the case of negative urine AFB culture, pathologic confirmation was necessary. (2) Nephrectomy associated morbidity was quite low. (3) The follow-up loss rate of the surgical group was lower than that of the other groups. Short course anti-tuberculous medication should be administered after nephrectomy.
Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Isoniazid ; Kidney* ; Nephrectomy* ; Pyrazinamide ; Recurrence ; Rifampin ; Tuberculosis, Renal*

We report a case of tuberculosis verrucosa cutis in a 35-year-old male patient who presented itchy verrucous plaque over both buttocks. Skin biopsy revealed hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis, and irregular acanthosis in the epidremis, and inflammatory infiltration and noncaseating tuberculoid granulomas in the dermis. Several AFB-positive bacilli were detected. He was treated with isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide for 4 months till now and the verrucous skin lesions have been markedly improved.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Buttocks ; Dermis ; Ethambutol ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Isoniazid ; Male ; Parakeratosis ; Pyrazinamide ; Rifampin ; Skin ; Tuberculosis*

BACKGROUND: Tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis is a granlomatous lymphadenitis which is the most common extra-plumonary tuberculosis in Korea. There are several controversies about the methods and the duration for the treatment of the disease. METHODS: We have studied 208 cases of tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis which were treated at Chung-Goo Sung-Shim Hospital from January 1992 to December 1996. RESULTS: The result of the study are as follows: The most prevalent age group was the third decade followed by the fourth decade. For the sexual distribution, females predominated over males by 1.9 to 1. the unilateral location was the most common one (76.2%). The most frequent lesion was on the anterior cervical triangle (28.6%) Simple excision was performed in 194 cases and incision plus drainage in 14 cases. Antituberculous medication was applied to the patients in two different groups. Isoniazid, Rifampin and Ethambutol were administered every day to the patients in one of the groups. To the other group, Pyrazinamide was additionally administered - Isoniazid, Rifampin, Ethambutol, and Pyrazinamide were administered every day. The average duration of medication for the former group was 13 months, and that for the latter group was 11 months. We experienced 17 cases of recurrence in both groups. The recurrence rate was 3.7% (4 cases) for the group with Pyrazinamide included and 13.0% (13 cases) for the other. For the patients with recurrence who were treated with the pyrazinamide, extending the medication from 6 to 12 months brought about a complete treatment for all cases. However, for the cases of recurrence in the other group, in which Pyrazinamide were not applied, only 8 cases were treated completely by 12 months after the additional administration of Pyrazinamide. Surgical treatment was performed for the remaining 5 cases, and all 5 cases were cured completely after additional antituberculous medication for 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the best choice for the treatment of tuberculous cervical lymphadenintis is the use of both surgical excision and antituberculous medication. In addition, the use of Pyrazinamide is recommended for the antituberculous medication.
Drainage ; Ethambutol ; Female ; Humans ; Isoniazid ; Korea ; Lymphadenitis* ; Male ; Pyrazinamide ; Recurrence ; Rifampin ; Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Joint symptoms frequently occur in the course of antituberculous chemotherapy and tend to be ignored and overlooked, but in some cases, they are often very troublesome in obstructing ordinary life. Joint symptoms that develop during antituberculous chemotherapy need to be understood, but there are few materials describing them systematically. METHOD: This study enrolled 33 patients with tuberculosis treated with first line antituberculous agents for more than 6months. In the course of treatment, joint symptoms not associated with specific cause, such as pre-existing joint disease or trauma, were investigated and compared with those of the asymptomatic group, We confirmed the incidence of joint symptoms and factors associated with them. RESULTS: Nineteen of 33 patients (58%) had joint symptoms. Joint symptoms developed 1.9±1.4 months after the beginning of chemotherapy and lasted for 3.6±2.5 months. IN 18 of 19 symptomatic patients, multiple joints were involved : shoulder(10 patients, 53%), knee(10,53%), finger(6,32%). Joint symptoms were expressed as pain(19 patients, 100%), stiffness(7,37%) and/or swelling (3,16%). Fourteen patients (74%) took analgesics to relieve their symptoms and in 2 patients, antituberculous agents were discontinued because of the severity of their symptoms. The symptoms seem to be caused by agents other than pyrazinamide, but it was very difficult to identify the definite causative agent. In age, sex, underlying disease and serum uric acid level, no significant differences were noted between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although joint symptoms are common during antituberculous chemotherapy, their development is difficult to predict. Because some joint symptoms can become very bothersome, the physician should pay close attention to these symptoms.
Analgesics ; Arthralgia ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Joint Diseases ; Joints* ; Pyrazinamide ; Tuberculosis ; Uric Acid