A two-drug combination to treat latent TB can cause severe liver damage and even death, according to a CDC study. The danger involves a two-month therapy regimen with rifampin and pyrazinamide. In data collected from January 2000 to June 2002, CDC received reports of 48 latent TB patients with confirmed cases of severe liver injury after receiving the treatment. Eleven patients died. The regimen should be used only if potential benefits "outweigh the risk for severe liver injury and death associated with it," CDC said. The agency recommended a nine-month regimen of isoniazid as the preferred treatment for latent TB. The report, "Update: Adverse Event Data and Revised American Thoracic Society/CDC Recommendations Against the Use of Rifampin and Pyrazinamide for Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection -- United States, 2003," was published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2003;52;(31):735-739).

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