Chloroquine, Hydroxychloroquine and Hearing Loss: A Study in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Chloroquine, Hydroxychloroquine and Hearing Loss: A Study in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients Via The Laryngoscope Objectives/Hypothesis Antimalarial drugs (chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine) are widely used for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, these drugs may have side effects such as hearing loss. This study aimed to describe the hearing function in SLE patients using antimalarials. Secondarily, this study aimed to investigate whether SLE causes hearing loss and if there are any serological or clinical aspects of this diseases associated with inner ear damage. Study Design Cross‐sectional study. Methods This study included 84 individuals (43 SLE patients and 41 controls) with audiometry and tympanometry tests. Epidemiological, clinical, serological, and treatment profiles of SLE patients were extracted from the charts. Results SLE patients had more sensorineural hearing loss than controls (23.2% vs. 0; P = .001). Pure‐tone averages in SLE patients using antimalarials and not using antimalarials were similar (8.75 vs. 8.75; P = .63). At 8,000 Hz, antimalarial dug nonusers performed worse than users (10.00 vs. 22.50; P = .03). Tympanometry was normal in all participants. SLE serological and clinical profiles in patients with and without hearing loss were the same (all P = nonsignificant). Conclusions There is a high prevalence of hearing loss in SLE that is not affected by antimalarial drug use. Level of Evidence 3b Laryngoscope, 131:E957–E960, 2021 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.