Fatal Toxic Reaction to Amphotericin B in Cryptococcal Meningo-Encephalitis

Case Reports1 November 1960FATAL TOXIC REACTION TO AMPHOTERICIN B IN CRYPTOCOCCAL MENINGO-ENCEPHALITISBALDO M. CARNECCHIA, M.D., JOHN F. KURTZKE, M.D.BALDO M. CARNECCHIA, M.D.Search for more papers by this author, JOHN F. KURTZKE, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-53-5-1027 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptCryptococcus neoformans(Torula histolytica) causes a subacute or chronic meningo-encephalitis which is uniformly fatal. The duration of illness may vary from about three weeks1to almost 16 years2after the onset of symptoms. The majority of patients succumb within six months of onset, and from 80 to 90% of patients are dead within the first year.3The tendency toward remissions and exacerbations in this disorder has made difficult the evaluation of therapy. In the past, treatment of torular meningo-encephalitis has been ineffective. However, in 1957 Appelbaum and Shtokalko4reported arrest of the disease for seven months in a patient given...Bibliography1. RoantreeDunkerley WBGE: Meningoencephalitis due to Cryptococcus neoformans; report of a case, Lancet 1: 1274-1278, 1952. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Beeson PB: Cryptococcic meningitis of nearly sixteen years' duration, Arch. Int. Med. 89: 797-801, 1952. CrossrefGoogle Scholar3. LittmanZimmerman MLLE: Cryptococcosis, 1956, Grune and Stratton, New York. Google Scholar4. AppelbaumShtokalko ES: Cryptococcus meningitis arrested with amphotericin B, Ann. Int. Med. 47: 346, 1957. LinkGoogle Scholar5. FitzPatrickRubinPoser MJHCM: The treatment of cryptococcal meningitis with amphotericin B, a new fungicidal agent, Ann. Int. Med. 49: 249-259 (Aug.) 1958. LinkGoogle Scholar6. RubinLehanFitzPatrickFurcolow HPHMJML: Amphotericin B in the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis, in Antibiotics Annual 1957-1958, Medical Encyclopedia, Inc., New York. Google Scholar7. RubinFurcolow HML: Promising results in cryptococcal meningitis, Neurology 8: 590-595, 1958. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. UtzTreger JPA: The current status of chemotherapy of systemic fungal disease, Ann. Int. Med. 51: 1220 (Dec.) 1959. LinkGoogle Scholar9. NewcomerSternbergWrightReisner VDTHETRM: Current status of amphotericin B (Fungizone) in treatment of systemic fungus infections, J. Chron. Dis. 9: 353 (Apr.) 1959. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. SeaburyDascomb JHHE: Experience with amphotericin B (Fungizone) for treatment of systemic mycoses, Arch. Int. Med. 102: 960 (Dec.) 1958. CrossrefGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Coatesville, Pennsylvania*Received for publication June 29, 1960.Presented at the Philadelphia Neurological Society, March, 1960.From the Neurology Service, Veterans Administration Hospital, Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and the Department of Neurology, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Requests for reprints should be addressed to John F. Kurtzke, M.D., Chief, Neurology Service, Veterans Administration Hospital, Coatesville, Pennsylvania. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byHepatotoxicity of Antimicrobials and Antifungal AgentsAmphotericin B–Associated Hyperbilirubinemia: Case Report and Review of the LiteratureAmphotericin B and liver functionAmphotericin B-induced hepatorenal failure in cystic fibrosisHepatotoxicity Possibly Caused by Amphotericin BComment: Consideration of Amphotericin B HepatotoxicityLiposomales Amphotericin B (Ambisome®): Erste Ergebnisse zur Behandlung lebensbedrohlicher, systemischer MykosenDrug Information Analysis Service; Theophylline Erythromycin InteractionChemotherapy of the Systemic MycosesA Review of Complications of Amphotericin-B Therapy: Recommendations for Prevention and ManagementAlteration of Tyrosine Aminotransferase Activity in Hepatoma Cells in Tissue Culture by Amphotericin BAmphotericin B Methyl Ester Hydrochloride and Amphotericin B: Comparative Acute ToxicityCryptococcosisCryptococcosisHistoplasmosisDie HistoplasmoseRenal Tubular Acidosis Due to Amphotericin BCRYPTOCOCCOSIS (TORULOSIS) : SOME PROBLEMS IN DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENTAmphotericin B Nephrotoxicity with Irreversible Renal FailureFRANK J. TAKACS, M.D., ZYGMUNT M. TOMKIEWICZ, M.D., JOHN P. MERRILL, M.D., F.A.C.P.Synergism between specific immune globulin and antibiotics in therapy of experimental blastomycosisCurrent Status of Griseo-fulvin and Amphotericin B 1 November 1960Volume 53, Issue 5Page: 1027-1036KeywordsAmphotericinAnemiaCathetersCryptococcus neoformansDementiaLeukocytosisNauseaNeurologyProteins Issue Published: 1 November 1960 PDF downloadLoading ...