[Toxic damage of the optic nerve in treatment with ethambutol in a patient on chronic dialysis].

The authors give an account of a 57-year-old male patient who was regularly dialyzed for two years and treated because of suspect TB of the spine with antituberculotics, incl. ethambutol. In the course of 8-9 months he was given 17.9 mg/kg ethambutol per day. Because of the practically zero excretion by the damaged kidney the drug cumulated in the serum and reached toxic levels before dialysis. Gradual deterioration of eyesight developed (central acuity and colour sense) which resulted in bilateral atrophy of the optic nerves with concentric narrowing of the visual field.