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- Page navigation anchor for Requirement for retinal screening in patients taking hydroxychloroquine and chloroquineRequirement for retinal screening in patients taking hydroxychloroquine and chloroquineWe read with interest the article by McGill and Ambrose on lupus in young people.1 They reiterate that patients should receive retinal screening after 5 years of exposure to hydroxychloroquine.1 The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has made a collaborative recommendation for systematic retinal screening in users of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in the United Kingdom. General practitioners and other prescribers of hydroxychloroquine, who take responsibility for drug monitoring requirements,2 should be aware of the key details of the recommendations:3- All patients expected to remain on hydroxychloroquine for more than 5 years should be referred to the hospital eye service for baseline evaluation within 12 months of starting treatment3- Patients should be referred to the hospital eye service for annual screening after 5 years of treatment- Patients with additional risk factors (chloroquine use, impaired renal function (eGFR<50ml/min/1.73m2), daily dose of hydroxychloroquine greater than 5mg/kg/day, and patients concurrently taking tamoxifen)4 should be screened annually after 1 year of treatment- Prescribers should note that the risk of retinal toxicity can be reduced by ensuring the daily dose of hydroxychloroquine is less than 5mg/kg/day.4A patient information leaflet has been develop...Show MoreCompeting Interests: There is no relevant financial support to declare relevant to this paper. Imran H. Yusuf and Andrew J. Lotery are part of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists guideline development group for hydroxychloroquine retinopathy screening. There is no other conflict of interest relevant to the subject matter of this manuscript.