Side effect of chloramphenicol is ?

• Chloramphenicol causes dose-dependent, reversible bone marrow suppression due to mitochondrial injury.
• It is due to its ability to reversibly inhibit mitochondrial protein synthesis and also the damage to the inner membrane of mitochondria. Hence Option 3 is the Correct Answer.

Concept

• Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic given for the treatment of serious infections and systemic infections.
• Chloramphenicol is mainly semisynthetic, a broad-spectrum antibiotic derived from Streptomyces venequelae and it has bacteriostatic activity.

Other side effects of chloramphenicol are:

• aplastic anaemia
• diarrhoea
• inflammation of the small intestine and the colon (enterocolitis)
• headache
• nausea
• nightmares
• inflammation of the optic nerve
• weakness and numbness in your hands and feet
• rash
• inflamed and sore mouth
• vomiting

Additional Information

•  Gray baby syndrome is a very serious side effect in which an infant experiences a life-threatening reaction to the antibiotic Chloramphenicol.
•  It occurs due to circulatory collapse that occurs in premature and newborn infants and is associated with excessively high serum levels of chloramphenicol.
• It is mainly characterized by ashen-grey colour skin, abdominal distention, vomiting, flaccidity, cyanosis, circulatory collapse, and death.