Deafness Due to Orally Administered Neomycin

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Abstract
NEOMYCIN was first isolated by Wakesman and Lechevalier from a soil organism (Streptomyces fradiae) It was purified by Peck in the same year and was found to contain a complex of three compounds; A, B, and C. Most of the available products today consist of the type B preparation and are considered to be a group of the most potent broad spectrum antibiotics known.1 Neomycin is poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and about 97% of an orally administered dose is eliminated unchanged in the feces. Its use in preoperative bowel sterilization is well known. Toxicity has been described infrequently associated with this route of administration. Conversely, when administered by the parenteral route, most of the drug is rapidly absorbed in the blood stream and has been shown to be highly toxic to both the inner ear and the kidney. This report describes a case of profound deafness believed