Ethambutol in tuberculosis

Ethambutol gained rapid acceptance as a substitute for PAS in tuberculosis therapy because of improved patient tolerance and convenience of administration. Ocular toxicity was recognized early on but was thought to be a problem only at higher dosages. There have, however, been a number of reports of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBiomedicine & pharmacotherapy Vol. 44; no. 1; p. 21
Main Author Kahana, L M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published France 1990
Subjects
Blindness - chemically induced
Ethambutol - therapeutic use
Humans
Optic Neuritis
Tuberculosis - drug therapy
Visual Pathways - drug effects
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Summary:Ethambutol gained rapid acceptance as a substitute for PAS in tuberculosis therapy because of improved patient tolerance and convenience of administration. Ocular toxicity was recognized early on but was thought to be a problem only at higher dosages. There have, however, been a number of reports of serious visual impairment on conventional dosage, with permanent blindness in some cases, and painfully slow recovery in others. The precise mechanism for the optic neuritis is not clear, and toxicity is difficult to predict in the individual patient. Ethambutol appears to contribute only marginally to modern short course regimens and should be replaced with a less toxic agent.
ISSN:0753-3322
1950-6007
DOI:10.1016/0753-3322(90)90065-H