Retrobulbar neuritis in a patient treated with intraarterial cisplatin for head and neck cancer.

A case of retrobulbar neuritis which developed in association with intraarterial continuous infusion cisplatin is presented. A 67-year-old man with squamous cell carcinoma of the left tonsillar fossa was treated with induction chemotherapy through the left lingual artery; the regimen consisted of cisplatin and 5-fluoro-deoxyuridine as continuous infusion. He developed some transient mental status changes and then left eye blindness. Ophthalmologic examination was compatible with retrobulbar neuritis. A brief review of reported cases of ophthalmologic toxicity in association with cisplatin is presented, and the likelihood that the toxicity is due to the drug itself rather than the method of administration is discussed.