Rifampicin associated renal dysfunction during antituberculous therapy

Intermittent rifampicin therapy has been reported to commonly cause a flu-like illness with chills and fever sometimes associated with acute renal failure. This report describes a fourth case of partially reversible insidious renal damage associated with continuous rifampicin therapy and provides evidence that it is not the results of light chain proteinuria as previously suggested. A retrospective review of data relating to renal function in 89 tuberculous patients indicated that increased plasma urate concentration was commonly associated with ethambutol therapy.