Ototoxic and Vestibulotoxic Drugs Flashcards
What are unintended consequences of drugs?
Side effects
Adverse effects
Toxic effects
What are the unintended consequences a function of?
Mechanism of drug action
Drug dosage
Characteristics and health of the patient (genetics, age, cardiac, liver, and kidney disease)
What is the reason that patients are given the lowest possible dose when taking a medication for the first time?
Drug toxicity
Only done when possible
How many people do adverse drug effects due to dosing errors affect?
About 7 million people annually
Costs around 21 billion annually
Critical for patients, doctors, and hospitals to minimize errors in prescribing and drug dosing
What are idiosyncratic drug reactions?
Unpredictable, unusual/unexpected adverse effects not explained by the pharmacologic properties of the drug that occur in some patients, not observed in animal/human clinical trials
Genetic or other patient variables that cause these reactions
Most IDRs are mediated through the immune system and are not dose dependent (can occur with one or fewer doses)
Can idiosyncratic toxicity cause permanent organ damage and death?
Yes
Can prompt drug withdrawal from use
Susceptible patients cannot be identified prior to the adverse effect occurring
What is ototoxicity?
Damage to the inner ear, targeting cochlear and vestibular structures and sensory function, due to exposure to certain pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and/or ionizing radiation
What are nonmedical agents that can damage the inner ear and are considered ototoxic?
Noise exposure
Chemical toxins and many solvents
Some heavy metals such as lead and mercury
Radiation
Is the hearing loss present from ototoxicity always SNHL?
Yes
The SNHL may be progressive, reversible, or irreversible
It can be unilateral or bilateral
What is neurotoxicity?
It is the alteration of hearing or balance by drugs and chemicals acting at the level of brainstem or central connections of the cochlear and vestibular nuclei
Distinct from ototoxicity
What are the risk factors for ototoxicity?
Dosage (the higher the dose and more prolonged the administration, the greater the risk)
Hepatic function (over 30 drug classes are metabolized in the liver, liver disease can decrease drug metabolism causing ototoxicity)
Renal function (most drugs are filtered through the body by way of the kidneys, chances of ototoxicity increase with impaired renal function)
Polypharmacology (greater risk of drug interaction)
Age (very young and old are most susceptible)
Pre-existing SNHL
What does the BLB allow through?
Only ions, amino acids, sugars, and other necessary compounds through
Genetic disorders, autoimmune reactions, and some microbes can breakdown the cellular integrity of the BLB resulting in loss of endocochlear potentials and SNHL
Ototoxins, however, appear to be able to cross an intact blood-labyrinth barrier by some yet unknown mechanism
Will ototoxic drugs cause disruption in the stria vascularis?
Yes
Do different classes of drugs act on different parts of the cochlear microstructure?
Probably, can act on different areas
Results in ototoxicity
Where is the earliest cochlear lesion in OHC destruction?
At the basal end
Can be caused by ototoxicity, NIHL, presbycusis, etc.
Will the damage progress from just the basal end (high frequencies)?
Yes
As dosage and/or duration increases
IHC can be destroyed and the damage spreads toward the apex, resulting in SNHL at mid and low frequencies
What follows the destruction of IHCs?
Degeneration of afferent nerve endings
VIII N tuning curves get shallow with destruction of the high frequency tip and only low frequency tail may be left
Speech perception is then adversely affected
What are the audiologic signs and symptoms of ototoxicity?
Tinnitus (change in frequency, intensity, or character of existing tinnitus; acute tinnitus can precede or supersede SNHL; can be intermittent and then become constant; may go away after drug discontinuation)
Aural fullness (patient can report being plugged up)
Recruitment
Abnormal/absent OAEs
Abnormal/absent acoustic reflexes (reflex decay and tone decay are typically negative (normal))
Poor speech perception (WRS scores decreased disproportionately
Some are being treated for life-threatening conditions
What are the vestibular signs and symptoms of ototoxicity?
Rarely is true vertigo reported
Typically, light-headedness or dizziness is reported
Unsteadiness or gait abnormalities
Ataxia also is reported
Abnormal ocular tracking on vestibular tests
Nystagmus (rapid involuntary eye movements)
What is it hard to distinguish ototoxicity and vestibulotoxicity from when you only have a pure tone audiogram?
Presbycusis
Ototrauma (very loud noise, sudden onset with short duration
Noise induced hearing loss
Sudden onset SNHL that is not caused by medication
Vestibular symptoms are typically rare in any of the above conditions but are more common with drug toxicity and some cases of sudden SNHL
Will the noise notch go away with age (presbycusis)?
Yes
What are the target organisms for antibiotics?
Bacteria
Affect both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria
What is gram-positive bacteria?
Bacteria that stain dark blue or violet by Gram staining because of high amounts of peptidoglycan in cell wall
What is gram-negative bacteria?
Bacteria cannot retain the crystal violet stain because they typically lack the outer membrane found in gram-positive bacteria
Instead they take up the counterstain (e.g., safranin or fuchsine) and appear red or pink
What is antibiotic antagonism?
One antibiotic can cancel out desired effects of the other
For e.g., if tetracycline and penicillin are given together, penicillin will not be effective
What is antibiotic synergism?
Using more than one antibiotic increases the spectrum of kill and produces a desired effect of greater magnitude
For e.g., enterococci bacteria may not be completely eradicated by penicillin alone
But streptomycin given with penicillin, will kill the enteroccoci bacteria completely
Are aminoglycosides the most studies class of antibiotics for ototoxicity/vestibulotoxicity?
Yes
They are also some of the most toxic for the auditory and vestibular system
What are aminoglycosides isolated from?
Bacteria called streptomyces genus
What is bactericidal action?
Used to treat infections caused by aerobic gram-negative bacteria that can cause serious and life-threatening infections, for e.g., endocarditis, septicemia, and kidney infections
All the above conditions in turn can increase the risk of ototoxicity
What is the bioavailability of most aminoglycosides?
Poor following oral administration because they are poorly absorbed by the gut
Do aminoglycosides have low protein binding?
Yes
They are, therefore, commonly administered IM or IV for systemic effects
Raising the risk of serous adverse effects in a few doses
Some aminoglycosides can be administered orally or as eye drops (even ear drops)
What are the aminoglycosides commonly available in the US?
Amikacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, neomycin, streptomycin, and tobramycin
What are the three toxicity reactions of aminoglycosides?
Nephrotoxicity (tubular cell injury because of drug accumulation, which may be reversible; contributes to ototoxicity because renal toxicity causes the drug to accumulate and stay longer in the body)
Neuromuscular blockade (rare; non-depolarizing type of neuromuscular blockade that can lead to respiratory paralysis)
Ototoxicity/vestibulotoxicity
Are most babies admitted to the NICU given antibiotics to prevent bacterial infections and neonatal sepsis?
Yes
Why is it difficult to get exact incidence numbers for aminoglycoside ototoxicity?
Definition of “hearing loss” differs across studies
Hearing evaluation at conventional frequencies (at < 8000 Hz) does not allow for detection of early ototoxicity
What are the generally accepted incidences of the affects of aminoglycosides?
Cochleotoxicity of most commonly seen in children and adults is reported at about 2 to 20% (Lord, 2019)
Vestibulotoxicity is reported at about 15%
Nephrotoxicty is reported at about 20 to 30%, which can potentiate the ototoxicity/vestibulotoxicity
What hair cells are lost first in the vestibular system?
Type 1
Causing disturbances in vestibular function
Does the primary site of lesion depend on the drug?
Yes
Streptomycin and gentamicin are more vestibulotoxic
Amikacin and neomycin are more ototoxic
All aminoglycosides can damage one or both end organs
Are ototoxicity and vestibulotoxicity with aminoglycosides dose dependent?
Yes, unless it’s genetic ototoxicity (genetic predisposition)
Do ototoxicity and vestibulotoxicity generally develop after chronic administration of aminoglycosides?
Yes
In a 6-to-8-day treatment regimen, hearing loss may not be noticeable
Can adverse effects become apparent after repeated administration?
Yes
Especially parental administration or weeks after initial treatment followed by progression of hearing loss after the drug is discontinued
How long is ototoxic monitoring necessary?
Several weeks and months after the drug is discontinued
How does this aminoglycoside damage occur?
Several theories are proposed but a definitive mechanism is yet unknown
Cationic charge of the aminoglycosides interacts with anionic charge of membranes of hair cells, which allows for drug transport into the cells
Aminoglycosides form complexes with iron and other metals, which forms free radicals through redox reactions that damage hair cells
Following entry into the inner hair cells, what effects can aminoglycosides have?
The drug increases intracellular calcium and generates toxic levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS)
These physiological changes result in cell death through apoptosis and necrosis (non-programmed cell death)
Which mechanism of hair cell death is initiated depends on the type of aminoglycoside and dosage regimen
Does gentamicin show a high concentration in the stria vascularis?
Yes
It passes into the marginal cells that line the lumen of the scala media passively diffusing through to the endolymph
It disrupts the ion channels disturbing the delicate homeostatic balance of the inner ear
Is the loss of hair cells most sever at the cochlear basal turn moving towards the apex?
Yes
Outer hair cells are affected first
Inner hair cells and rest of the organ of corti can be damaged in more severe cases
What are the other structures that are damaged by aminoglycosides?
Stria vascularis, spiral ligament, reissner’s membrane
What type of damage is secondary to hair cell loss for aminoglycoside toxicity?
Nerve fiber damage
Can aminoglycosides result in both acute physiological and permanent functional effects?
Yes
Hearing loss can sometimes be reversible following discontinuation of drug
What is the single most important factor limiting use of aminoglycosides?
Ototoxicity
Both systemic and topical application can cause ototoxicity
Where does ototoxicity hearing loss begin?
Higher frequencies
Greater than or equal to 16,000 Hz
By the time hearing loss is measured at 8000 Hz and below, the damage had already occurred
Speech discrimination is already affected
Why OAEs and high frequency audiometry are important for monitoring
Can ototoxicity hearing loss be unilateral or bilateral?
Yes
Can be temporary or permanent
May be sudden or progress to complete deafness
Can vestibular toxicity occur without injury to the auditory system?
Yes
Prevalence of aminoglycoside induced vestibulotoxicity appears to be greater than cochleotoxicity
Can vestibular injuries be compensated?
Yes
By visual and proprioception senses
In what people is vestibular toxicity more likely to occur in?
Previous history of balance problems and kidney dysfunction
Can vestibular damage be temporary or permanent?
Yes
~ 75% of those who receive chronic treatment with aminoglycosides have permanent vestibular dysfunction
If it is bilateral peripheral vestibular damage or central vestibular damage, is there central compensation?
No
Only if it is unilateral peripheral
What are the long-term symptoms that a person could experience from aminoglycoside vestibulotoxicity?
Vertigo
Disequilibrium
Oscillopsia or bouncing vision (damage to the vestibulo-ocular-reflex)
Risk of falling