Vasilijević, Jelena B. (24767470400)Jelena B. (24767470400)VasilijevićKovačević, Igor M. (6701643801)Igor M. (6701643801)KovačevićDijana, Risimić (58629335500)Risimić (58629335500)DijanaDačić, Bojana (58629956700)Bojana (58629956700)DačićMarić, Gorica (56433592800)Gorica (56433592800)MarićStanojlović, Svetlana (23502220700)Svetlana (23502220700)Stanojlović2025-06-122025-06-122023https://doi.org/10.4103/IJO.IJO_740_23https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85172986066&doi=10.4103%2fIJO.IJO_740_23&partnerID=40&md5=030211a3bd8a002f20a36fabacdac4d3https://remedy.med.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/2467Purpose: The aim of this study is to measure retinal vessel density and flow rate area by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients with autoimmune diseases taking hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). Methods: The cross-sectional study included 98 patients divided into three groups. Group I included patients with the diagnosis of an autoimmune disease, for whom the introduction of HCQ was planned. Group II implied low-risk patients for retinal toxicity (≤5 years of HCQ use), whereas Group III implied patients that were at high-risk (>5 years of drug use). All patients underwent a computerized visual field, central macular thickness by optical coherence tomography, and OCTA measurements. Results: The vascular density was found to be statistically significantly decreased in the high-risk group compared to the control group in the superficial parafoveal zone (P = 0.030), whereas it was decreased compared to the low-risk and control groups in the deep layers whole (P = 0.006, P = 0.010, respectively) and perifoveal zones (P = 0.003, P = 0.010, respectively). The foveal avascular zone was significantly enlarged in the high-risk group compared to the control (P < 0.018). Retinal flow rates did not show statistically significant differences between the groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Patients treated with HCQ for more than 5 appear have a significant loss of vascular density in the parafoveal and perifoveal regions, and FAZ area is significantly increased compared to low-risk patients and controls. These findings indicate that OCTA may be beneficial for monitoring high-risk patients and may stratify their risk of further retinal damage. © 2023 Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.Hydroxychloroquine retinopathyoptical coherence tomography angiographyscreeningvessel density