Some Drugs Used to Treat Tuberculosis
Drug | Route | Side Effects |
|---|---|---|
First-line drugs* | ||
By mouth | Liver injury (hepatitis) in 1 person in 1,000, resulting in fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and jaundice Sometimes numbness in the limbs (peripheral neuropathy) | |
By mouth | Reddish orange discoloration of urine, tears, and sweat Rarely a low white blood cell or platelet count | |
By mouth | Liver injury (hepatitis), digestive upset, and sometimes gout | |
By mouth | Sometimes blurred vision and decreased color perception (because the drug affects the optic nerve) | |
By mouth | Inflammation or rupture of tendons Nervousness, tremors, and seizures Antibiotic-associated diarrhea and colon inflammation (colitis) | |
Second-line drugs† | ||
By injection into a muscle | Kidney injury, dizziness, hearing loss (due to damage to nerves of the inner ear), rash, and fever | |
By mouth | Inflammation or rupture of tendons Nervousness, tremors, and seizures Antibiotic-associated diarrhea and colon inflammation (colitis) | |
By injection into a muscle | ||
* First-line drugs are usually the first choice for treatment. | ||
† Second-line drugs are usually used when the bacteria causing tuberculosis have become resistant to first-line drugs or when people cannot tolerate one of the first-line drugs. | ||