To the Editor: I note the letter in the 7 June issue of the Journal by Ojaimi and colleagues, in which they express their concerns about the lack of uniform screening guidelines for patients on hydroxychloroquine therapy.1 The most obvious problem was the apparent failure of the treating rheumatologist to ensure that the patient was adequately followed up for ocular side effects associated with this treatment.
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- Mount Gambier Eye Centre, Mount Gambier, SA.
Correspondence: doctiny@bigpond.com
- 1. Ojaimi E, Guymer RH, Wong TY, Harper CA. Hydroxychloroquine retinopathy: screening needed to prevent blindness. Med J Aust 2010; 192: 668-669. <MJA full text>
- 2. Levy GD, Munz SJ, Paschal J, et al. Incidence of hydroxychloroquine retinopathy in 1207 patients in a large multicenter outpatient practice. Arthritis Rheum 1997; 40: 1482-1486.
- 3. Elder M, Rahman A, McLay J. Paracentral field loss in patients taking hydroxychloroquine. Arch Ophthalmol 2006; 124: 1729-1733.
- 4. Royal College of Ophthalmologists. Hydroxychloroquine and ocular toxicity. Recommendations on screening. October 2009. London: RCO, 2009. http://www.rcophth.ac.uk/documents.asp?section=39§ionTitle=Publications&searchterm=Hydroxychloroquine&x=1&y=5&let=O (accessed Nov 2010).
- 5. Marmor MF, Carr RE, Easterbrook M, et al. Recommendations on screening for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine retinopathy: a report by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Ophthalmology 2002; 109: 1377-1382.
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