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Acute and severe ribavirin-associated hyperuricemia and acute kidney injury: An underrecognized adverse effect

Sakran R, Frisch A, Elias A, Sliman H, Ammuri H, Kurnik D

American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 2021

4 citations

Abstract

Purpose: To report a case of ribavirin-associated severe hyperuricemia in an immunocompromised patient treated for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection.

Summary: A 21-year-old male with a past medical history of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia was in full remission after allogenic bone marrow transplantation complicated with chronic graft-versus-host disease. He was hospitalized due to fever, malaise, and respiratory symptoms. A diagnosis of RSV upper respiratory tract infection complicated by secondary pneumonia was made, and oral ribavirin (600 mg in 3 divided doses daily) and intravenous levofloxacin (750 mg once daily) were initiated. On day 2 of the hospital admission, the patient's uric acid levels had increased from a baseline of 4 to 6 mg/dL to 19.3 and 22.2 mg/dL after the fourth and fifth doses of ribavirin, respectively, and his serum creatinine steadily had increased from a baseline of 0.7 to 0.8 mg/dL to 1.6 mg/dL. Ribavirin was discontinued after the sixth dose, and a single dose of intravenous rasburicase (7.5 mg) was administered. On day 3, the patient's serum uric and creatinine concentrations had decreased to 4.7 mg/dL and 1.1 mg/dL, respectively. He continued to recover on antibiotics and was discharged with normal uric acid and serum creatinine levels.

Conclusion: We report a case of severe hyperuricemia and acute kidney injury that developed early after initiation of ribavirin for RSV infection and suspected bacterial pneumonia in an…

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