Hypokalemic Paralysis Induced by Amphotericin B

Abstract
UNTIL QUITE RECENTLY, the major emphasis on the toxic effects of amphotericin B therapy in man has centered around the serious complications of nephrotoxicity,1,2anemia,3,4and liver damage.5However, in scattered case reports, it has become apparent that severe hypokalemia2,6-8may be encountered as another complication in certain patients under amphotericin therapy, and can result in severe muscular weakness and paralysis. The purpose of the present communication is to report another case in which this less well recognized form of amphotericin B toxicity occurred with a relatively small total dose of the drug and to briefly review those previously reported cases. Report of a Case A 28-year-old Negro male entered our hospital April 1, 1963, with a history of fever, night sweats, and severe pleuritic pain on the right side of two weeks' duration. Approximately ten days prior to the onset of symptoms, he had visited