Antitubercular drug-induced violent suicide of a hospitalised patient

Abstract

We present a case where a young adult male, on treatment for multidrug-resistance tuberculosis (MDR-TB), developed drug-induced psychosis. The psychiatric symptoms were ascribed to the anti-TB drug and were duly withdrawn by the treating doctors and supplemented with other drugs. However, the victim continued to have psychiatric symptoms and committed suicide in the hospital. He ended his life in a violent manner by stabbing and cutting himself with a kitchen knife. The case is briefly reported in this paper with a discussion on anti-TB drug-induced psychiatric effects leading to suicide.