Symptom experience of adverse drug reaction among male and female patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis in Thailand

Background: Patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis often suffer from adverse drug reaction symptoms, which leads to the automatic discontinuation of anti-tuberculosis drugs. Thus, understanding symptom experience of adverse drug reactions is necessary. Objective: This study aimed to examine differences in symptoms experienced in four dimensions: presence, frequency, severity, and distress of adverse drug reactions, between male and female patients. Methods: This was a quantitative survey with a cross-sectional design, with data collected between January and April 2020. A total of 394 patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis was selected through a purposive sampling technique. The symptom experiences of adverse drug reactions were measured using a validated instrument. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and independent t-test. Results: The most commonly reported symptom was itchiness (24.1% in males and 34.9% in females). Vomiting occurred as the most frequent symptom among males ((x) over bar +/- SD = 2.73 +/-.88), and fatigue was found to be the most severe and distressing symptom across male patients ((x) over bar +/- SD = 2.50 +/- 1.61 and 2.06 +/- 1.30, respectively). In contrast, yellowing of the eyes and skin was most frequent and severe among females ((x) over bar +/- SD = 3.17 +/-.75 and 3.83 +/- 1.47, respectively). In addition, flu-like symptoms were evaluated as the most distressing symptom for female patients ((x) over bar +/- SD = 2.80 +/- 1.09). The symptom burdens of the females ranged significantly and reached higher than those of the male patients at a p-value of .05 (t = 3.33). Conclusion: Females taking anti-tuberculosis drugs should be carefully monitored to deal with adverse drug reaction symptoms. This finding would help to decrease the severity of disease and improve their quality of life.

Automated summary

Among newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis patients, females experience more severe and distressing adverse drug reaction symptoms compared to males, requiring careful monitoring and management to improve their quality of life.