Vision-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

PURPOSE: To assess vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) under treatment with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), and to find the influencing factors. METHODS: Cross-sectional study enrolling SLE patients for less than ten years (Group 1), SLE patients for more than ten years (Group 2), and healthy controls (Group 3). SLE patients should be under treatment with HCQ but without ophthalmological affection. Schirmer test, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), axial length (AL) with optical biometry, and swept-source optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCTA) Triton (Topcon) were performed. All participants fulfilled the Impact of Visual Impairment questionnaire, and SLE patients answered the Lupus Impact Tracker (LIT) questionnaire. Additional data were obtained from clinical records. RESULTS: A totals of 41 eyes (41 patients), 31 eyes (31 patients) and 45 eyes (45 volunteers) were enrolled in the study groups. The mean ages were 41.09 ± 9.56, 45.06 ± 8.47 and 40.25 ± 10.83 years, respectively (p = 0.10). The LIT outcomes were 33.49 ± 20.74 and 35.98 ± 22.66 (p = 0.63), respectively. Group 3 referred to a better VRQoL than Group 2 in all categories and than Group 1 in some of them. A linear regression analysis showed that serum ferritin, SLE activity scales, body-mass index (BMI), age, and BCVA influenced VRQoL. The LIT questionnaire was correlated to two categories of the Impact of Visual Impairment questionnaire (IVI). CONCLUSIONS: Despite no ophthalmological affection, SLE patients refer to poorer VRQoL because of disease activity and a low health-related quality of life, which has a negative influence on VRQoL. This masks the effect of other ophthalmological conditions such as dry eyes. Other variables influencing VRQoL are age and BMI, and BCVA, to a lesser extent.

Automated analysis of choroidal thickness in patients with systemic lupus erithematosus treated with hydroxychloroquine.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the influence of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in choroidal thickness (CT) in patients with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE), considering the possible impact of disease activity on the choroid. METHODS: Cross-sectional study comparing three groups: two groups of SLE patients treated with HCQ without HCQ-retinopathy (32 eyes/32 patients with < 5 years of HCQ (group 1) and 44 eyes/44 patients with > 5 years of HCQ (group 2)), and an age-matched healthy control group of 46 eyes/46 patients (group 3). A complete ophthalmic examination was performed, including swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) Triton (Topcon). Data were correlated to systemic disease activity parameters. RESULTS: CT was thicker in group 1 compared to group 3 in central, nasal, and superior sectors, and to group 2 in inner superior and outer inferior sectors (p < 0.05). In the correlation analysis, disease activity and CT were inversely correlated in most sectors (p < 0.05). In the regression analysis, HCQ was related to thinner CT in temporal and inferior sectors and disease activity with variations in nasal sectors (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In SLE patients, HCQ is correlated to decreased CT, especially in the inferior and temporal areas. The choroid shows different responses to SLE activity and HCQ, and some sectors may be more sensitive than others.

Rituximab: alternativa eficaz para la querotopatía ulcerativa periférica / Rituximab: effective alternative for peripheral ulcerative kerotopathy

El desarrollo de los fármacos biológicos ha permitido controlar de manera óptima las manifestaciones oftalmológicas de las enfermedades autoinmunes, el conocimiento de nuevas vías patogénicas y de nuevas dianas terapéuticas lo que está suponiendo una revolución en el tratamiento médico de numerosas entidades y donde la oftalmología no es una excepción. Se presenta el caso clínico de una paciente con artritis reumatoide con mal control y afectación multisistémica que presentó una queratopatía ulcerativa periférica de mal control que respondió con tratamiento biológico diferente al tradicionalmente usado: el rituximab(AU)

The development of biological drugs has allowed optimal control of the ophthalmologic manifestations of autoimmune diseases, the knowledge of new pathogenic pathways and new therapeutic targets, which is leading to a revolution in the medical treatment in numerous entities and where ophthalmology is no exception. We present the clinical case of a patient with poorly controlled rheumatoid arthritis and multisystemic condition. The patient presented a poorly controlled peripheral ulcerative keratopathy that responded to a different biological treatment than the one traditionally used: rituximab(AU)