Optic neuropathy due to ethambutol intake: A case report [Etambutol kullanimina bagli optik nöropati]

A case with bilateral persistant vision loss due to ethambutol intake is presented. A forty-one year-old male underwent tuberculosis treatment (Ethambutol, Streptomycin, Rifampicin) fifteen years ago and he had an irregular drug therapy regimen during that period. Acute bilateral vision loss occurred three years ago while receiving ethambutol treatment and no improvement was observed. Bilateral finger clubbing, palmar erythema, bilateral total vision loss and optic atrophy were found on physical and neurologic examination. Ethambutol is one of the major drugs in tuberculosis treatment. It is usually well tolerated. An important side effect of the drug is optic neuropathy. In this paper, we review a case with acute vision loss due to ethambutol therapy. Copyright © 2005 by Türkiye Klinikleri