SUMMARY
Purpose:
To evaluate the prevalence of ocular abnormalities, to analyze the association between these changes and the use ofchloroquine, and to determine the repercussion of Systemic Lupus Erythe-matosus (SLE) and chloroquine in automated static perimetry with red and blue stimuli.
Methods:
Sixty-eight patients with SLE underwent a complete ophthalmological examination, including tests to investigate the presence of ''dry eye ”, and static perimetry of the central 10 degrees with red and blue stimuli. Patients with SLE were divided in two subgroups: those who were using chloroquine (n = 53) and those who were not (n = 15). An age-matched control group consisting of 68 normal volunteers was selected to allow a comparison betweeen the thresholds in automated perimetry.
Results:
The most significant ocular findings included “dry eye” (36.7%), inferior corneal erosions (26.4%), subcapsu-lar cataract (35.3%), and epithelial pigment changes in the macular area (10.3%). The sensitivity to the blue stimulus was higher than to the red stimulus in all groups. The thresholds to both red and blue stimuli were significantly lower in patients with SLE than in the control group, regardless of the use of chloroquine. The drug was not found to be responsible for the decrease in sensitivities to red and blue stimuli in patients with SLE.
Conclusions:
The “dry eye” is the most frequent ocular manifestation of the SLE. It is possible that SLE might be responsible for the threshold reduction, possibly through a direct effect on photoreceptores.
Keywords:
Systemic lupus erythematosus; Chloroquine; Macular visual field; Dry eye