Linezolid-related adverse effects in the treatment of rifampicin resistant tuberculosis: a retrospective study

Abstract

Linezolid (LZD) is an effective drug in treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis. This study aimed to evaluate the safety of LZD in the treatment of patients with rifampicin resistant tuberculosis. This was a multicenter retrospective study. A total of 184 patients of the rifampicin resistant tuberculosis patients treated with LZD from Jan 2018 to Apr 2020 in three hospitals were involved, and their clinical symptoms were recorded and analyzed. Meanwhile, the types and incidence of adverse effects associated with LZD were evaluated. It showed that peripheral neuritis (51, 27.7%) and hemochromatosis (42, 22.8%) were the most common adverse effects observed among these patients. The median time of symptoms after LZD treatment was 45.5 and 120.0 days, respectively. Furthermore, female patients had a significantly higher risk for leukopenia (P = 0.002) and hemochromatosis (P = 0.033) when compared with male patients. History of underlying disease was the risk factor for thrombocytopenia (P = 0.022). Patients with long duration of medication (RR = 1.004, 95%CI: 1.002–1.006, P < 0.001) and daily dosage ≥600mg (RR = 3.059, 95%CI: 1.238–7.558, P = 0.015) were at higher risk of hemochromatosis. Age was the risk factor for rash (P = 0.008) and nausea and vomiting (P = 0.018). In addition, LZD administration time was the risk factor for optic neuritis (P < 0.001) and peripheral neuritis (P < 0.001). LZD can cause adverse symptoms in patients with rifampicin resistant tuberculosis. Gender, history of underlying disease, LZD use time, LZD dosage, and age are the risk factors in the LZD treatment of these patients. During medication, bone marrow suppression and neuropathy should be closely monitored. This study could potentially provide useful information for the clinical practice.

Keywords:

• Rifampicin resistant tuberculosis
• linezoid
• safety
• adverse effects

Availability of data and material

The datasets used or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Author contribution

Dan Cui carried out study concepts and experimental studies; Gang Chen carried out definition of intellectual content and manuscript review; Dan Cui and Gang Chen contributed to study design; Dan Cui, Xiaomeng Hu and Li Shi contributed to data acquisition & analysis, manuscript preparation and editing; Dongchang Wang helped to literature research and clinical studies.