Effects of Large Doses of Chloramphenicol on Human Subjects

WEN chloramphenicol first became available for general use in 1948, as one of the earliest broad-spectrum antibiotics, it was regarded as an important contribution to the treatment of infectious diseases. During 1950–52, however, numerous reports1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 appeared suggesting a relation between the administration of chloramphenicol and the development of aplastic anemia and pancytopenia. A direct causal relation could not be established in most of the cases, but considerable alarm was engendered concerning the hazards of using this drug.17 18 19 20 This attitude toward chloramphenicol has recently been somewhat modified. It was estimated that 8,000,000 Americans had received chloramphenicol before 1953 without increase in . . .