Alopecia as a Side Effect of Antituberculosis Drugs

    February 1996 in “ Lancet ”
    J M Fitzgerald, Marie T. Turner, Steven M. Dean, R. Kevin Elwood
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    TLDR Some tuberculosis drugs may cause hair loss, but hair might regrow after treatment or changing the drugs.
    In a letter to the editor of The Lancet, researchers reported on the occurrence of alopecia as a side effect of antituberculosis drugs. Over an 18-month period, they treated 141 cases of tuberculosis and observed alopecia in five Canadian-born white patients. The patients were on various combinations of antituberculosis drugs including isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, ethambutol, and vitamin B6. In some cases, hair regrowth occurred after the treatment was completed or when certain drugs were removed from the regimen. Three of the five patients were HIV-positive, which may have been a contributing factor to the alopecia. The cases suggest that isoniazid might be responsible for the hair loss, and the authors recommend that patients be warned about this potential side effect to address any issues with treatment compliance.
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