Ocular toxicity secondary to hydroxychloroquine: Prevalence in an Irish patient cohort

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ; Plaquenil) is a very commonly prescribed medication by rheumatologists and dermatologists nowadays to manage various autoimmune diseases. It is also well known as “lupus life insurance” due to its well-established life-saving clinical benefits for systemic lupus erythematosus patients. It is generally well tolerated but is however associated with irreversible retinopathy. This cross-sectional observational study was carried out in St. Vincent’s University Hospital from April 2019 to Feb 2020, total of 60 patients who have been on hydroxychloroquine treatments continuously for more than five years had been recruited in this study. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, visual field test, and fundal autofluorescence were performed on all the patients, and no retinopathy secondary to hydroxychloroquine was found. Overall hydroxychloroquine is a fairly safe drug in our study group.