Perilymphatic calcium and VIII nerve action potentials during gentamicin bolus i.v. injections. A preliminary study

Life-threatening human sepsis is often treated using bolus intravenous aminoglycoside injections with transient deafness as a reported side effect. Young adult cats were given various high dosages of gentamicin in bolus injections (1 ml in 30 s). Scala vestibuli calcium and gentamicin, blood gentamicin and compound action potentials of the VIII nerve were measured shortly after the injections and 45 min later. An obvious relationship could be demonstrated between levels of gentamicin, decreased calcium content and acoustic thresholds elevation. Even after a high dose of 175 mg/kg that abolished action potentials at t = 2 min, recovery invariably occurred. It is believed that the reported transient hearing loss in humans may be partly attributable to a temporary blockage of calcium by gentamicin.