Antimalarial therapeutic agents have demonstrated both efficacy and relative safety in the therapeutic armamentarium available for the treatment of several distinct dermatologic diseases. It appears that the most common devastating complication of antimalarial drug therapy is a hydroxychloroquine-induced retinal maculopathy that, if ignored, can result in irreversible visual deterioration. Fortunately, clinical experience has demonstrated that antimalarial therapy for specific dermatologic diseases may be employed with relative safety, provided that there is unfettered cooperation between the treating dermatologist and consulting ophthalmologist, combined with vigilance for any harbingers of early visual deterioration.
