TY - JOUR T1 - Impact of adverse drug reaction and predictivity of quality of life status in tuberculosis JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 206 LP - 208 DO - 10.1183/09031936.00159409 VL - 36 IS - 1 AU - N. Guo AU - F. Marra AU - J.M. Fitzgerald AU - R.K. Elwood AU - C.A. Marra Y1 - 2010/07/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/36/1/206.abstract N2 - To the Editors: In Canada, people diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB) disease are routinely treated with isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol. Although effective, the treatment is associated with significant adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Current knowledge of these ADRs has focused on their frequency and clinical natures 1, 2. However, reporting clinical natures of ADRs is not adequate to fully reflect their impact on patients’ health status. In recent years, patient-reported outcomes, such as health-related quality of life (HRQoL), are increasingly appreciated in evaluating the impact of illnesses and the effectiveness of medical interventions 3. Therefore, we intended to investigate the impact of anti-TB treatment-induced ADRs on patients’ HRQoL and to examine the association between baseline HRQoL status and the likelihood of ADRs during the subsequent treatment. In British Columbia (Canada), TB patients are seen monthly through TB control clinics managed by the British Columbia Center for Disease Control (BCCDC). Monthly laboratory tests are done to monitor patients’ liver and renal function and haematological status. Tolerance to medications is evaluated during clinic visits. Medical records are kept in the integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS). This study partially represents a longitudinal HRQoL study, where English-speaking adults with newly initiated treatment for active TB disease or latent TB infection were recruited from BCCDC during 2005 and 2006. Ethics approval was obtained from the Behavioural Research Ethics Board of the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC, Canada). Participants provided informed consent. For the present study, active TB patients were considered eligible if they further met the criteria: 1) had no pre-existing liver problems or no other known severe health conditions before the treatment; 2) completed ≥3 months of treatment; and 3) completed both baseline and 3-month HRQoL assessments. HRQoL was measured at baseline, 3 months and 6 … ER -