Antituberculous drugs and rash

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Antituberculous drugs and rash

Author: Pediatric Oncall

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A 4½ years old girl presented with fever for 15 days, headache for 7 days and stiffness of legs for 7 days. She had meningeal signs on examination. CSF showed 3,900 cells/cumm (78% polymorphs, 22% lymphocytes), proteins 90 mg/dl, Glucose 43 mg%. HIV ELISA was negative. Hemoglobin was 11.8 gm/dl, WBC count was 16,000/cumm (89% polymorphs, 11% lymphocytes) and ESR was 102 mm at end of 1 hour. There is history of tuberculosis in a girl in the neighbourhood. CT brain and cervical spine showed 2.3 x 0.5 cm intraspinal abscess compressing cord at C1 & C3 levels. MRI spine showed an anterior epidural abscess measuring 6.5 x 1.0 cm diameter from C1 – C4 with marked enhancement of adjacent leptomeninges with bilateral basal pleural effusion with basal collapse consolidation and a large multiloculated left psoas abscess extending from L1 till mid pelvis with normal spinal cord. She was treated with 4 drug antituberculous therapy (ATT) consisting of isoniazid, rifampicin, Ethambutol and pyrazinamide. However she developed morbilliform rash and fever with elevated liver enzymes (SGPT = 139 IU/L, SGOT = 225 IU/L) due to ATT. She was then shifted to alternate ATT consisting of Ofloxacin, Ethambutol & Streptomycin. Her liver enzymes decrease & fever and rash subsided.

Which antituberculous agent is the likely cause?