Chlorochine Retinopathy in COVID-19 Pandemic.

Wydanie 3/2022
str. 32 – 41

Autor: Sława Borowska.

Centrum Mikrochirurgii Oka LASER w Warszawie.

Summary: 

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ, Plaquenil) is used in treatment of a variety of autoimmune disorders, in dermatology, rheumatology and oncology. Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine (CQ) have been associated with irreversible visual loss due to retinal toxicity. Hydroxychloroquine retinal toxicity is far more common than previously considered; an overall prevalence of 7.5% was identified in patients taking HCQ for greater than 5 years, rising to almost 20% after 20 years of treatment. SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus that emerged in 2019 and is causing the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no current standard of care. Clinicians need to be mindful of the toxicity of a wide variety of possibly unfamiliar substances being tested or repurposed to treat COVID-19.