Didanosine-induced Retinopathy: New Insights with Long-term Follow-up

Didanosine is an adenosine analog, part of the nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor family. Since the description of didanosine-induced retinopathy in the early 1990s, little is known about the progression of this toxic retinopathy and the putative underlying mitochondrial defect.

We report long-term follow-up for cases of didanosine-induced retinopathy and discuss a new hypothesis for pathophysiology based on the alteration of endogenous adenosine on the photoreceptor outer segment turnover and phagocytosis by the retinal pigment epithelium.

Ophthalmic data from six cases (12 eyes) of didanosine-induced retinopathy from a single institution were retrospectively analyzed.

All patients displayed bilateral retinal alterations in the mid-periphery. Despite didanosine discontinuation, patients with advanced areas of patchy chorioretinal atrophy appeared to have a faster progression than those with limited lesions. Full-field electroretinogram revealed generalized rod-cone dysfunction in most cases that remained stable over time.

We propose new guidelines including early screening and long-term observations.