Cortical blindness as a manifestation of hypomagnesemia secondary to cisplatin therapy: Case report and review of literature

Cisplatin is widely used in the treatment of solid tumors and is known to h ave a number of side effects including hypomagnesemia, We present a case re port of a patient with a Stage IIA carcinoma of the cervix who initially wa s treated with radiotherapy and cisplatin and subsequently presented with s udden onset of blindness. The diagnosis was uncertain but the possibility o f functional blindness was considered. Serum magnesium was low. Correction of this electrolyte abnormality resolved this profound visual symptom. This case emphasizes the importance of serially observing cisplatin-treated pat ients for the possible development of the clinical syndrome of magnesium de ficiency. (C) 1999 Academic Press.