Rifampicin-induced hypertensive urgency: eyes see what the mind knows

Abstract

A man had poor control of hypertension throughout 9 months of antituberculosis treatment. He consulted multiple physicians, who kept increasing this blood pressure medicine. Despite that, it was not controlled and he visited emergency many times with hypertensive urgency. When admitted in our care, he was off antituberculosis treatment for 5 days and his blood pressure was back to normal. We attributed it secondary to rifamipicin-induced enzyme induction. Tuberculosis and hypertension both being very common diseases, we report this case to highlight lack of awareness about these important and easily preventable drug interactions.