Acute renal failure due to continuous rifampicin.

We describe the clinical and pathological features of acute renal failure which occurred in a patient receiving a first course of antituberculous therapy, including daily rifampicin. Renal biopsy specimens demonstrated an interstitial nephritis. The renal lesion resolved three weeks after the cessation of rifampicin, as evidenced by improvement in renal function and the return of nuclear magnetic resonance tomographic studies to normal. This is only the fifth reported instance of renal impairment following continuous rifampicin therapy, despite widespread use of the drug in a daily dose. The possible toxic interaction of rifampicin and antituberculous drugs which are excreted predominantly by the kidneys is also described.