Antimalarials linked to retinal toxicity

Article

Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are strongly associated with retinal toxicity in patients with a lean body weight,

Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are strongly associated with retinal toxicity in patients with a lean body weight, according to a recent study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology.

The clinical findings suggested doctors should consider patient's body weight before administering either of the anti-malarial treatments. Dr Micheal Michaelides, et al, Oregon Retinal Degeneration Center, Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA, studied 16 women aged between 44–85 for 7 years.

The research was carried out using fundus photography, visual field testing and electrophysiologic assessment on all patients. Six patients received spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) and 4 patients received fundus autofluorescence imaging.

Results indicated that all patients had bilateral macular cone dysfunction. The most common symptom observed was difficulty reading and the fundus results varied from mild retinal pigment epithelial changes to bull's-eye maculopathy.

To lower the risk of retinal toxicity the findings advise the consideration of the patient's lean bodyweight when calculating the daily dosage of hydroxychloroquine sulphate and chloroquine phosphate.

Related Videos
Ana Neves, head of global marketing for ZEISS Meditec Ophthalmology
Fritz Hengerer, MD, PhD, Director, Eye Hospital at Bürgerhospital, Frankfurt, Germany
Dr Sheng Lim, professor of glaucoma studies at St Thomas' Hospital, London
Kasperi Kankare at the iCare booth at ESCRS
Scott D Barnes, MD, CMO of STAAR Surgical
Tomislav Bucalic, head of marketing at Geuder, and David Geuder, member of the executive board and CIO
Related Content
© 2023 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.