Amiodarone Needs Looking Into It produces alterations in the tissues of the eye

The changes brought about by amiodarone on the eye have been noted since 1968 but are not well documented. In an effort to add to available information on this topic, eye checks were given to more than 250 patients on amiodarone therapy of 200-1200 mgjday for 5 days per week. In 99% of this population keratopathy appeared gradually following 4-6 weeks of amiodarone. A whorled pattern with lighter dense lines could be seen in the lower cornea. In the 100 cases of keratopathy studied further, the severity of the keratopathy was mostly dose-related. Once fully developed it did not change with increased doses of amiodarone and once amiodarone was withdrawn, took from 6 months to 1 year to clear. Some patients had golden brown anterior subcapsular lens changes but few demonstrated any alterations in visual acuity. In pathological examinations of the eyes of 2 patients, electron microscopy revealed lamellar bodies similar to myelin in the cellular cytoplasm, and changes in the corneal epithelium and the retinal ganglion cells. These effects may have clinical significance for patients on high doses of amiodarone for long periods. Ghosh. M and McCulloch. C Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology 19.' 178 (Jun 1984)

0156-2703/ 84/0915-0013/0$01.00/ 0 © ADIS Press INPHARMA'" 15 Sep 1984 13