Is Isoniazid Safe for Children With HIV?

Isoniazid did not reduce the risk for tuberculosis (TB) in children with HIV, according to a new systematic review.

For their analysis, the researchers evaluated randomized controlled trials published on online databases from inception to December 2016. Trials included in the analysis had assessed the role of isoniazid in preventing TB in children with HIV.

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The primary endpoint was TB incidence, and secondary end points were mortality, overall survival, and severe adverse events.

Three trials, with 977 participants, met inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. A random effects model was used to pool results and summarize risk ratios (RRs) with a 95% confidence interval.

After pooling the results, the researchers found that isoniazid use did not significantly reduce the risk for TB incidence (RR, 0.70) or mortality (RR, 0.94), compared with placebo.

“Isoniazid did not reduce the incidence of TB in [children living with HIV],” the researchers concluded. “All included studies were performed in regions with high prevalence of TB, making the overall generalizability limited.”

—Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Charan J, Goyal JP, Reljic T, Emmanuel P, Patel A, Kumar A. Isoniazid for the prevention of tuberculosis in HIV-infected children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 2018;37(8):773-780. doi:10.1097/INF.0000000000001879.