Study design and participants
This prospective cohort study was conducted at the National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu branch from January 1, 2016, to May 31, 2018. Approval from the institute’s research ethics committee was obtained prior to study initiation. Patients aged ≥18 years, who received first-line anti-TB treatment for culture-confirmed or clinically diagnosed TB, and who could be followed up regularly according to the directives of the Taiwan Guidelines for TB Diagnosis & Treatment were included in this study [17]. All patients with TB received a standard anti-TB treatment comprising daily INH, RIF, EMB, and PZA for the first 2 months and daily INH and RIF for the next 4 months. For patients with an estimated creatinine clearance of < 30 ml/min, the frequencies of EMB and PZA were changed to once every 2 days with the unit dose kept unchanged. If necessary, the regimen was modified by the primary care physician; for example, in cases with adverse drug reactions or the presence of resistant MTB strains.
Patients with urinary tract infection; who received potentially nephrotoxic drugs other than anti-TB drugs at AKI onset; with other conditions possibly resulting in AKI, such as hypercalcemia, dehydration, hypotension, and nephrogenic cause; or with an end-stage renal disease receiving renal replacement therapy were excluded.