Adverse drug reactions observed during DOTS.

A total of 8.37% of the 1195 patients treated at NDTB Centre with DOTS under RNTCP between January 2002 to June 2003 presented with adverse drug reactions. Patients showing any sort of adverse reactions were studied in detail by personal interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire. The profile of patients presenting with adverse reactions showed that majority of the patients (53%) had gastrointestinal reactions, the commonest presenting complaint being nausea and vomiting. General aches and pains were complained by about 35% and giddiness was the presenting complaint in 27% irrespective of the use of streptomycin, although giddiness was observed more often in Category II patients (59%). Skin rash and itching was complained by about 17% of patients and 11% complained of arthralgia, while only 1% had hepatotoxicity during treatment. Majority of the adverse reactions (67%) were observed within the first four weeks of treatment and only 0.25% of patients treated with DOTS had interruption of treatment for short periods.