Respiratory Depression with Intraperitoneal Neomycin

Abstract
Respiratory depression was not noted by the authors in more than 100 previous cases where neomycin had been instilled in the human peritoneal cavity (200 ml. of a 1% solution), but tidal volume measurements were not made in these instances.1 Pridgen2 reported four cases of respiratory arrest in which 0.5 gm. was instilled intraperitoneally in each of two infants and 3 gm. in each of two adults. The infants died. The adults survived after undergoing 3 and 48 hours of respiratory depression, respectively. Poth has noted respiratory arrest in animals and respiratory depression in an infant.3 A fatal adult case is reported in the American Society of Anesthesiologists Newsletter.4 This patient received 2 gm. intraperitoneally with respiratory arrest within 10 minutes. Webber5 reported a case in which 5 gm. was instilled in the peritoneal cavity, producing respiratory arrest with recovery after 15 hours of artificial