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Updated: Apr 15, 2026

Author Spotlight: Ex Vivo OCT-Based Multimodal Imaging of Human Donor Eyes for Research into Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Published on: May 26, 2023
Near-infrared reflectance bull's eye maculopathy as an early indication of hydroxychloroquine toxicity
Keye L Wong1, Scott E Pautler2, David J Browning3
1Retina Associates of Sarasota, Sarasota, FL, USA.
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.

