Functional and Morphological Characteristics of the Retina of Patients with Drusen-like Deposits and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Treated with Hydroxychloroquine: A Retrospective Study

Alice M Kitay; James V M Hanson; Nasiq Hasan; Matthew Driban; Jay Chhablani; Daniel Barthelmes; Christina Gerth-Kahlert; Mayss Al-Sheikh

doi:10.3390/biomedicines11061629

Functional and Morphological Characteristics of the Retina of Patients with Drusen-like Deposits and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Treated with Hydroxychloroquine: A Retrospective Study

Biomedicines. 2023 Jun 3;11(6):1629. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11061629.

Authors

Alice M Kitay¹, James V M Hanson¹, Nasiq Hasan², Matthew Driban², Jay Chhablani², Daniel Barthelmes^{1

3}, Christina Gerth-Kahlert¹, Mayss Al-Sheikh¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Frauenklinikstrasse 24, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.
² UPMC Eye Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
³ Save Sight Institute, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of drusen-like deposits (DLD) on retinal layer integrity and retinal function by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: We identified 66 eyes of 33 SLE patients treated with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) that were categorized into two groups according to whether DLDs were present (34 eyes, Group One) or absent (32 eyes, Group Two). The groups were matched for age, sex, HCQ treatment duration, daily, and cumulative dosage. OCT (retinal layer thicknesses, central retinal thickness, CRT) and mfERG concentric ring analysis were analyzed and compared.

Results: CRT was significantly thicker in Group One compared to Group Two (273.21 ± 3.96 vs. 254.5 ± 7.62) (p = 0.023). Group One also demonstrated an overall thicker retinal pigment epithelium compared to Group Two; however, the other outer retinal layers, outer nuclear layer, and photoreceptor layer were found to be significantly thinner in Group One compared to Group Two. We found no differences in mfERG parameters between the two groups.

Conclusions: DLDs in SLE patients lead to abnormal central retinal layer thickness, which has no measurable impact on cone-mediated retinal function assessed by mfERG.

Keywords: drusen-like deposits; hydroxychloroquine; multifocal electroretinography; optical coherence tomography; systemic lupus erythematosus.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding. Mayss Al-Sheikh is supported by the Filling the Gap program, a career development program for young researchers from the University of Zurich. James VM Hanson is supported by the Albert Bruppacher Stiftung.