Near-infrared reflectance bull’s eye maculopathy as an early indication of hydroxychloroquine toxicity

Importance: In some patients, hydroxychloroquine ocular toxicity may progress even following cessation of therapy. Any leverage the clinician may use to allow earlier detection may avert significant vision loss. Observation: We report three cases suggesting that bull’s eye maculopathy seen on near-infrared reflectance with a confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope could be an early, objective manifestation of hydroxychloroquine ocular toxicity, and with progression of the disease this near-infrared “bull’s eye” change may disappear. Conclusion and relevance: Alerting clinicians to this observation may allow a larger case series to corroborate the hypothesis that bull’s eye maculopathy detected by near-infrared reflectance may represent an early sign of hydroxychloroquine toxicity.

Duke Scholars

Author David Judson Browning Ophthalmology