Biomaterial Database

Ocular ethambutol toxicity. 2003

Alex Melamud, and Gregory S Kosmorsky, and Michael S Lee

Cole Eye Institute, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.

Ethambutol is an antimicrobial agent used frequently to treat tuberculosis. The most commonly recognized toxic effect of ethambutol is optic neuropathy, which generally is considered uncommon and reversible in medical literature. We describe a 43-year-old man who developed signs and symptoms of bilateral optic neuropathy during treatment with ethambutol. This case and a review of the literature show the severe and unpredictable nature of ethambutol toxicity and its potential for irreversible vision loss despite careful ophthalmologic monitoring.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D009901	Optic Nerve Diseases	Conditions which produce injury or dysfunction of the second cranial or optic nerve, which is generally considered a component of the central nervous system. Damage to optic nerve fibers may occur at or near their origin in the retina, at the optic disk, or in the nerve, optic chiasm, optic tract, or lateral geniculate nuclei. Clinical manifestations may include decreased visual acuity and contrast sensitivity, impaired color vision, and an afferent pupillary defect.	Cranial Nerve II Diseases,Foster-Kennedy Syndrome,Optic Disc Disorders,Optic Disk Disorders,Optic Neuropathy,Second Cranial Nerve Diseases,Cranial Nerve II Disorder,Neural-Optical Lesion,Disc Disorder, Optic,Disk Disorder, Optic,Disorder, Optic Disc,Foster Kennedy Syndrome,Lesion, Neural-Optical,Neural Optical Lesion,Neural-Optical Lesions,Neuropathy, Optic,Optic Disc Disorder,Optic Disk Disorder,Optic Nerve Disease,Optic Neuropathies,Syndrome, Foster-Kennedy
D004977	Ethambutol	An antitubercular agent that inhibits the transfer of mycolic acids into the cell wall of the tubercle bacillus. It may also inhibit the synthesis of spermidine in mycobacteria. The action is usually bactericidal, and the drug can penetrate human cell membranes to exert its lethal effect. (From Smith and Reynard, Textbook of Pharmacology, 1992, p863)	Dexambutol,EMB-Fatol,EMB-Hefa,Etambutol Llorente,Ethambutol Hydrochloride,Etibi,Miambutol,Myambutol,EMB Fatol,EMB Hefa,Hydrochloride, Ethambutol,Llorente, Etambutol
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328	Adult	A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available.	Adults
D000995	Antitubercular Agents	Drugs used in the treatment of tuberculosis. They are divided into two main classes: "first-line" agents, those with the greatest efficacy and acceptable degrees of toxicity used successfully in the great majority of cases; and "second-line" drugs used in drug-resistant cases or those in which some other patient-related condition has compromised the effectiveness of primary therapy.	Anti-Tuberculosis Agent,Anti-Tuberculosis Agents,Anti-Tuberculosis Drug,Anti-Tuberculosis Drugs,Antitubercular Agent,Antitubercular Drug,Tuberculostatic Agent,Tuberculostatic Agents,Antitubercular Drugs,Agent, Anti-Tuberculosis,Agent, Antitubercular,Agent, Tuberculostatic,Anti Tuberculosis Agent,Anti Tuberculosis Agents,Anti Tuberculosis Drug,Anti Tuberculosis Drugs,Drug, Anti-Tuberculosis,Drug, Antitubercular
D014376	Tuberculosis	Any of the infectious diseases of man and other animals caused by species of MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS.	Koch's Disease,Kochs Disease,Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection,Infection, Mycobacterium tuberculosis,Infections, Mycobacterium tuberculosis,Koch Disease,Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infections,Tuberculoses