Toxic nephropathy during continuous rifampin therapy.

A relatively mild nonoliguric acute renal failure developed early in the course of daily rifampin treatment in a 54-year-old man who was receiving concomitant steroid therapy. The renal lesion was an acute interstitial nephritis characterized by tubular dysfunction:inability to concentrate urine, increase in fractional excretion of sodium and uric acid, and glycosuria with normal blood glucose values. All abnormalities resolved promptly upon withdrawal of rifampin while steroid therapy was gradually reduced. The documents the fact that rifampin-induced nephropathy can occur in the course of a continuous daily regimen and may be favorably influenced by steroid administration.