MONITORING OF HEARING DURING TREATMENT OF LEUKEMIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE USE OF AMIKACIN

Thirty-nine patients with leukaemia were followed audiometrically duri ng treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Amikacin was given durin g neutropenic febrile episodes. Five patients reported a deterioration of the hearing function after termination of amikacin treatment. Sign ificant hearing threshold loss occurred in 20 patients (51%). The hear ing threshold changes were small in general, except for two patients w ho exhibited bilateral hearing threshold changes in the frequency rang e 0.5-8 kHz. Using multiple linear regression analysis 22% of the chan ges in hearing thresholds was estimated to be related to old age, an i ncreased trough concentration of amikacin and an impaired pretreatment hearing state. Factors found not to influence the hearing thresholds were maximum peak concentration of amikacin, cumulative duration of th erapy, pretreatment renal dysfunction and concomitant use of vancomyci n. It is concluded that administration of amikacin for repeated treatm ent courses is associated with a low incidence of serious changes in h earing function.