Medications that can cause Drug Induced Lupus
Although as many as 100 drugs have been reported to cause DRL, most cases are caused by the following 4 drugs: procainamide (Pronestyl), hydralazine (Apresoline), minocycline, and quinidine (Quinaglute). With these 4 drugs, the risk of developing DRL after 2 years of drug use is 5-20 percent. With the other drugs reported to cause DRL, the risk is less than 1 percent.
Drugs with a definite association to DRL include: chlorpromazine (Thorazine), hydralazine, isoniazid (used for tuberculosis), minocycline, methyldopa, and the heart medications procainamide and quinidine.
Drugs reported to have a possible association with DRL include: the beta-blockers propranolol, metoprolol, and atenolol; captopril; the anticonvulsants carbamazepine (Tegretol), primidone (Mysoline), ethosuximide (Zarontin), valproic acid (Depakene, Depakote), trimethadione (Tridone), and phenytoin (Dilantin); hydralazines; interleukins; interferons; levodopa, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), tiotropium bromide inhaler, ophthalmic timolol, lithium; the anti-thyroid drugs methimazole and propylthiouracil (PTU); the chelating agent penicillamine; the antibiotics nitrofurantoin, sulfasalazine, and sulfonamides.
Drugs reported to have an unlikely or very low association with DRL include: allopurinol (used for gout), chlorthalidone and hydrochlorothiazide (diuretics), gold salts, griseofulvin, methylsergide, oral contraceptives, lovastatin, minoxidil, perphenazine, penicillin, phenylbutazone, reserpine, streptomycin, and tetracyclines.