Are the side-effects or toxicity due to anti-TB drugs more common in HIV-positive Individuals?
Adverse reactions are generally more common in HIV-positive than in HIV-negative TB patients. Most reactions occur in the first two months of treatment. Skin rash and hepatitis are more common and most often attributed to rifampicin. The usual drug responsible for fatal skin reaction such as exfoliative dermatitis, Steven-Johnson syndrome, and toxic epidermal necrolysis is thiacetazone. Therefore, thiacetazone should never be given to HIV-positive TB patients. From a programmatic point of view, thiacetazone should not be prescribed in areas where HIV prevalence is shown to be high.
