Clinical outcome and imaging characteristics of fatty liver caused by anti-tuberculosis drugs / 中华传染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the clinical and imaging characteristics of liver density changes in patients with initial-treated drug-sensitive secondary tuberculosis during standardized treatment and after withdrawal when cured.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted of 34 patients with initial-treated drug sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis in Beijing Chest Hospital of Capital Medical University and the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University from January 2014 to April 2019. The chest computed tomography (CT) examination and sputum culture were performed before treatment. The patients received the standardized treatment and they were divided into three groups according to the course of treatment (three, nine and 12 months). Liver density and liver function were followed up during treatment (three, six, nine and 12 months) and after drug withdrawal (3, 6 and 12 months). The measurement data were analyzed by t-test. Results:The average liver density of these three groups gradually decreased during the treatment period, and gradually increased after drug withdrawal. There were five and nine cases of fatty liver occurred at three and six months of treatment in the six-month treatment group, respectively; and six, two and zero cases of fatty liver occurred at three, six, and 12 months after drug withdrawal, respectively. There were four, eight and 11 cases of fatty liver occurred at three, six, and nine months of treatment in the nine-month treatment group, respectively; and seven, two and zero cases occurred at three, six, and 12 months after drug withdrawal, respectively.There were five, 10, 14 and 14 cases of fatty liver occurred at three, six, nine and 12 months of treatment in the 12-month treatment group, respectively; and 12, 10 and five cases occurred at three, six, and 12 months after drug withdrawal, respectively. During the course of treatment, the density of livers of some cases decreased unevenly, and the density of right lobe of the liver was lower than the left lobe. The density of left lobe of the liver was (49.8±4.0) HU, (45.0±3.9) HU, (37.0±9.9) HU, (45.3±8.1) HU, (48.4±6.6) HU at the treatment of six, nine and 12 months and drug withdrawal of three and six months, and the density of right lobe of the liver was (44.0±6.1) HU, (37.2±7.7) HU, (25.5±15.8) HU, (38.5±11.7) HU, (43.8±9.9) HU, the differences were statistically significant ( t=4.611, 4.512, 2.307, 2.803 and 2.291, respectively, all P<0.05), while those were not statistically significant among three months of treatment and 12 months after drug withdrawal ( t=1.573 and 1.199, respectively, both P>0.05). There were two cases showed alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate amiotransferase (AST) accompanied elevated (ALT>2×upper limits of normal (ULN), AST<2×ULN) at three and six months of treatment, with no abnormalities detected of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total bilirubin (TBil). Conclusions:The liver density gradually decreases and uneven fatty liver could appear during anti-tuberculosis treatment, but it gradually returns to normal or relieves after drug withdrawal. The degree of fatty liver is not synchronized with the changes of liver function indexes (ALT, AST, ALP and TBil), which belongs to chronic reversible injury.