Introduction - Uppsala Monitoring Centre

1947 Forty patients. Dose 3.0 gm daily
1. Histamine reactions: flushing, headache and fall in blood pressure.
Probably due to impurities
2. Irritation at injection site: pain, soreness and induration, which was
probably due to impurities
3. ‘Anaphylactic’ manifestations: fever, dermatitis (about 5%) and
eosinophilia (14 of 16 patients)
4. Renal irritation: cylindruria, albuminuria, reduction of renal function
(1–3%)
5. Neurological Disturbances: vestibular dysfunction varies with dose
and duration of treatment, headache, heavy headiness, vertigo,
nausea, and vomiting
Deafness (7%) was dose related and more common in those who
have had intrathecal streptomycin.
6. Miscellaneous reactions: leucopenia with relative
granulocytopenia; and one case of thrombocytopenia
(McDermott, 1947).
1947 Miliary Tuberculosis. 5 patients
One patient became deaf and others developed confusion and
delirium and these were probably disease related.
1947 November 8 th
Five hundred and forty three patients (Veteran’s Administration).
Dose used varied between 1.8 and 2.0 G daily.
Preliminary statement.
Toxic manifestations required 6% to stop treatment. Medical staff
developed contact dermatitis.
1. Local irritation due to intrathecal injections caused temporary
partial paraplegia in 3.3% of patients.
2. Minor toxic reactions: fever was rare, circumoral parathesia was
commonly observed and nausea and vomiting occurred
occasionally.
3. Jaundice, psychosis and blood dyscrasias: jaundice (2), psychosis
(1), mild leucopenia with neutropenia (5), agranulocytosis (3) quite
definitely due to streptomycin.
4. Sensitivity Reactions: eosinophilia (10-20%) skin eruptions (0.80%)
5. Renal damage: casts and albumin almost routinely found.
Increasing renal dysfunction (2.1%)
6. Damage to the eighth nerve: vertigo (96%) deafness (1.1%)
(Veterans Administration, 1947).