Acetylation phenotype and hepatotoxicity in the treatment of tuberculosis in children.

We studied the relationship between acetylation phenotype and the appearance of biochemical and clinical signs of liver damage in 73 tuberculous children treated with isoniazid and rifampin. No significant differences were found with respect to the distribution of acetylation phenotype between tuberculous patients and a control group consisting of 256 children. Hepatotoxicity manifested in 27 cases (37%), of which only five (7%) had clinical signs. Application of the Fisher exact probability test did not show a relationship between acetylation phenotype and hepatotoxicity.