A Case of Hydroxychloroquine Retinopathy

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Hydroxychloroquine has been used as the antimalarial agent and drug of the treatment for autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. Hydroxychloroquine retinopathy can cause serious visual disturbance although the incidence is low. This report is to describe a case of Hydroxycholoroquine retinopathy on 73 year old female. CASE SUMMARY: A 73 year old female patient presented our clinic with complaints of visual disturbance for several months. She had taking 400 mg/day (8.8 mg/kg of lean body weight/day) of hydroxychloroquine for 2 years. The best corrected visual acuity was 20/30 in both eyes. Bull's eye maculopathy was observed on her fundus examination and Humphrey Automated Visual Field 24-2 showed central scotoma in both eyes. Parafoveal thinning of photoreceptor layers, loss of the inner and outer segment junction and external limiting membrane was observed on spectral domain Optical Coherence Tomography. Window defect was visible at the parafoveal area on fluorescein angiography. Electroretinogram revealed subtle dysfunction of cone cell and multifocal ERG trace array showed decreased amplitudes at the parafoveal area. Electrooculogram showed decreased Arden ratio. CONCLUSIONS: We strongly advise that all patients taking Hydorxycholoroquine therapy have a regular examination to find hydroxychloroquine retinopathy in early stage especially in the patients having high risk factors.