Presumed Sertraline-Associated Maculopathy: A Case Series

PURPOSE: To report findings of maculopathy after treatment with sertraline in three patients. METHODS: This case series includes three patients who presented with reduced visual acuity after treatment with sertraline for various psychiatric indications. All patients had been treated with sertraline for varying periods of time between 4 weeks and 5 years. RESULTS: Data were collected from three patients (age range, 27–68 years). All three patients were white females, with both eyes being affected in all cases. The range of presenting visual acuities was between 20/30 and 20/100 after presentation with central visual disturbance. All patients underwent comprehensive ocular examination and imaging with the main ocular findings being outer retinal layer and retinal pigment epithelial disruption. The follow-up period was between 1 and 9 months with final visual acuities between 20/25 and 20/100. Patients showed objective clinical evidence of phenotypically similar maculopathy supported by appropriate imaging CONCLUSION: In this cohort, we report the possible association of sertraline use and associated maculopathy in three patients. This is potentially significant, given the large numbers of patients treated with sertraline currently; however, further evidence is required to both quantify how common this association is and establish a possible causative mechanism.