Contact dermatitis to antituberculosis drugs.

The literature has been reviewed for contact dermatitis occurring to antituberculosis agents. Of the 12 known drugs, 6 (isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, para-aminosalicylic acid, streptomycin and kanamycin) have been documented by patch test to cause this type of dermatitis in certain individuals. Cross sensitization has been observed to contribute significantly to the allergic reactions noted from isoniazid, streptomycin, and kanamycin. Hyposensitization has also been discussed in this review.