Optical coherence tomography findings of quinine poisoning

Abstract

John Christoforidis, Robert Ricketts, Theodore Loizos, Susie ChangThe Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USAPurpose: To report a case of acute quinine poisoning, document acute and chronic macular changes with optical coherence tomography imaging and fluorescein angiography (FA), and to review the literature on ocular toxicity of quinine.Methods: A 32-year-old white female presented to our Emergency Department after ingesting over 7.5 g of quinine. She underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination, fluorescein angiography, Stratus time-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), and electroretinography at 72 hours and 15 months postingestion. Stratus time-domain and Cirrus spectral-domain OCT, fundus autofluorescence, and FA were obtained at 28 months postingestion.Results: Fluorescein angiography at 72 hours postingestion revealed normal filling times and vasculature. OCT showed marked thickening of the inner retina bilaterally. At 15 and 28 months follow-up, fundus photography and fluorescein angiography demonstrated optic nerve pallor, severely attenuated retinal vessels while OCT showed inner retinal atrophy. Fundus autofluorescence did not reveal any retinal pigmentary abnormalities.Conclusions: Quinine toxicity as seen by OCT reveals increased thickness with inner retinal hyperreflectivity acutely with development of significant retinal atrophy in the long-term. Fundus autofluorescence reveals an intact retinal pigment epithelial layer at 28 months. These findings suggest that quinine poisoning may produce a direct toxic effect on the inner retina in the acute phase resulting in long-term retinal atrophy.Keywords: retinal, optical coherence tomography, quinine toxicity