REACTIONS FOLLOWING INTRACISTERNAL USE OF STREPTOMYCIN

Since Cook, Dunphy and Blake 1 first described the intrathecal and intracisternal administration of streptomycin, evidence has accumulated to indicate that such modes of injection can be accompanied with toxic effects on the central nervous system and that these effects may outweigh the benefits in any single case. We propose to review neurologic complications resulting from instillation of streptomycin into various sites in the central nervous system and to report 2 cases illustrating the dangers of intracisternal administration of that agent. Systemic toxic manifestations following intramuscular administration of streptomycin are well known and have been well summarized by McDermott. 2 Neurologic complications from streptomycin are divided into (1) impairment of the eighth cranial nerve and (2) effects attendant on the instillation of streptomycin directly into the central nervous system. Walker and co-workers 3 found that in monkeys 75 mg. of streptomycin applied directly to the cerebral cortex consistently produced convulsions.