Screening for hydroxychloroquine maculopathy using multifocal electroretinogram
Mahmoud Alaa, Rana Saad-Eldin, Randa El-Mofty, Mortada AbozaidPurpose
To assess the ability of multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) to detect early retinal toxicity caused by hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) intake.
Patients and methods
A total of 100 patients using HCQ for more than 5 years with normal fundus fluorescein angiography and normal macular optical coherence tomography were screened for subclinical HCQ retinal toxicity using mfERG and perimetry.
Results
The mean age of the studied patients was 58.9±2.3 years with 79 being females and 21 males. The indications for HCQ use included rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and Sjogren’s syndrome. Seven patients were diagnosed with possible HCQ retinopathy due to characteristic parafoveal depression of amplitude and prolongation of implicit time in their mfERG.
Conclusion
MfERG is a powerful tool for HCQ toxicity screening and should be done as a routine investigation in patients at risk.