amphotericin
- n an antibiotic and antifungal agent
- Cryptococcal meningitis was always fatal until the antifungal drug, amphotericin B, came into use six years ago.
- The worst, victims agree, is amphotericin B, known as "Ampho the Terrible" to those who have to have it injected into the base of their skull for meningitis.
- In the beginning, treatment consisted of high doses of intravenous amphotericin B, which patients quickly dubbed "amphoterrible" because of its nauseating side effects.