Peripheral neuropathy associated with ethambutol.

A woman developed peripheral neuropathy and optic neuritis while receiving ethambutol in the retreatment of drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis. There was prompt improvement in peripheral neuropathy and the ocular symptoms following the withdrawal of the drug. The clinical events in this case suggest that occasionally symptoms of peripheral neuropathy may precede the development of optic neuritis by several months, and thus serve as a warning for the subsequent development of the more serious visual toxicity.