ObjectiveTo observe the efficacy of low-dose methylprednisolone combined with hydroxychloroquine and methotrexate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). MethodsBetween January 2011 and May 2013, 60 RA patients on their first treatment with a disease course of less than or equal to 2 years were randomly divided to control group and treatment group Ⅰ with 30 patients in each. Patients in both the two groups were given hydroxychloroquine and methotrexate therapy, while the control group was treated with meloxicam (7.5 mg/time, 2 times/d) in addition, and the treatment group one was given methylprednisolone (4 mg/time, 2 times/d) in addition. Another 30 RA patients with a disease course of more than 5 years with no standardized treatment were designated into the treatment group Ⅱ. They accepted the same treatment scheme as treatment group Ⅰ. All the patients were evaluated one week after treatment to assess their clinical symptoms. Twelve weeks before and after treatment, the patients were evaluated on their clinical indicators and immunological indicators. ResultsThe clinical symptoms of patients in treatment group Ⅰ and Ⅱ were rapidly relieved within one week after treatment, and the curative effect was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Twelve weeks after treatment, the treatment groups were significantly improved compared with the control group in clinical symptoms and DSA28 (P<0.05). The improvement of clinical symptoms and immunological tests in treatment group Ⅰ was more obvious than that in treatment groupⅡ. ConclusionLow-dose methylprednisolone combined with hydroxyl chloroquine and methotrexate can quickly and effectively relieve the clinical symptoms of the patients with RA, and patients with a shorter course of the disease have better clinical efficacy.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ) for oral lichen planus (OLP).MethodsPubMed, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, CBM, VIP and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of HCQ and CQ for OLP from inception to September, 2018. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, then, meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 10 RCTs involving 726 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: HCQ or CQ were more effective than placebos (P<0.05). Nevertheless, they were inferior to oral traditional Chinese medicine (RR=0.75, 95%CI 0.69 to 0.82, P<0.000 01). In addition, the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ T cell increased significantly in peripheral blood of OLP patients after treatment with HCQ or CQ (MD=–0.28, 95%CI –0.44 to –0.13, P=0.000 3). The incidences of adverse reaction of HCQ or CQ were higher than orally traditional Chinese medicine (RR=11.80, 95%CI 4.85 to 28.68, P<0.000 01), and the difference was statistically significant.ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that the efficacy of HCQ or CQ for OLP were significantly superior to placebo, while inferior to orally traditional Chinese medicine. The possible therapeutic mechanism of HCQ or CQ for OLP may be related to the regulation of the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ T cells and cellular immunity of OLP patients. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify above conclusion.
Hydroxychloroquine is widely used in a variety of autoimmune diseases. However, long-term use of hydroxychloroquine can cause severe retinopathy, which has a complex pathogenic mechanism and diverse clinical manifestations, mainly manifested as photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelial damage and irreversible vision loss. Identifying damage before retinitis pigment epithelium lesions preserve central vision, so early detection is crucial to slow disease progression and reduce vision loss. The development of multimodal imaging technology and the issuance of the latest treatment guidelines provide a powerful tool for the early screening and treatment of hydroxychloroquine retinopathy. Proficient in the latest guidelines for the treatment of hydroxychloroquine can better guide clinicians to do a good job in disease screening and management, recommend risks, safe dosages and appropriate screening procedures to patients and strengthen the prevention of hydroxychloroquine retinopathy, which will help save the vision of more patients and reduce the waste of medical resources.
ObjectiveTo evaluate whether there are changes in cone cells in patients with pre-clinical hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) retinopathy using an adaptive optics (AO) retinal camera. MethodsA retrospective case-control study. From May 2020 to July 2020, 46 patients who were treated in Department of Rheumatism and Immunology, Hainan Hospital of PLA General Hospital with rheumatic immune diseases were included. All patients had a history of HCQ use and no obvious abnormality was found in fundus examination; 105 healthy people with similar demographic characteristics without a history of hydroxychloroquine were recruited as the control group were included. All subjects received the routine ophthalmological examination including best corrected visual auity (BCVA), spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), Fundus autofluorescence (FAF), visual field, endoscopy of the cornea, and the measurement of axial length (AL). The BCVA was performed with the Snellen visual acuity chart, and the result was converted to logarithmic minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity for statistic. Among the 46 cases, 6 cases were males and 40 cases were females. Age was (42.02±13.81) years old; logMAR BCVA was 0.063±0.015; AL was (23.95±0.726) mm. Visual field, macular SD-OCT, FAF examination showed no abnormality. The average cumulative dose of HCQ was 522.60 (6-1 728) g. rtx1 AO retinal camera was used to collect fundus images of subjects in four quadrants above the retina, nasal side, lower side and temporal side with 3°centrifugation from the fovea in both eyes. The cone density, cone spacing, cone arrangement regularity and the proportion of the nearest cones with 6 (nn=6) were measured in the four quadrants. The density of cone cells between the left and right eyes in case group and control group were compared by paired t test. The density and spacing of cone cells in each quadrant were compared by t test of two independent samples. ResultsCompared with the control group, the cone cell density in the four quadrants of the left eye and the nasal, superior and inferior sides of the right eye in the case group was significantly decreased, and the difference was statistically significant (t=4.247, 2.107, 4.884, 2.254, 2.643, 4.445, 4.116; P＜0.05). The cone spacing in the nasal and temporal sides of the left eye of the patients in the case group was significantly larger than that in the control eye, with statistical significance (t=2.750, 3.318; P＜0.05). Compared with the control group, the regulatign of cone cell arrangement in the left temporal side of the right and left eye in the case group were significantly reduced, the difference was statistically significant (P=0.002, 0.011). The proportion of nn=6 in the inferior and temporal sides of the right eye decreased significantly in the case group, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.006, 0.032). ConclusionAO retinal imaging can detect the changes of cone cells in the early clinical stage of HCQ retinopathy.
Hydroxychloroquine retinopathy is an ocular lesions that develops following long-term or excessive use of hydroxychloroquine. The early clinical presentation of this lesion is nonspecific and is often detected when severe central vision impairment occurs in late stage. It currently mainly includes hydroxychloroquine binding to melanin, inducing degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium, increasing the pH of lysosomes in the retinal pigment epithelium and interfering with the visual cycle. In recent years, with the development of retinal imaging technology and the in-depth study of hydroxychloroquine retinopathy, characteristic fundus structural changes such as retinal and choroidal thickness and blood vessels may occur in the early stage. This not only provides an important basis for the early diagnosis of hydroxychloroquine retinopathy, but also provides important clues for investigating its pathogenesis. Clinicians' proficiency in relevant fundus changes and pathogenesis will facilitate early diagnosis and treatment, while also minimizing irreversible central vision impairment in patients.