Current practice in antimalarial drug prescribing in rheumatoid arthritis.

An analytic mail survey was conducted among Canadian and Australian rheumatologists to probe current prescribing practices for antimalarial agents. Ninety-six percent of respondents prescribed antimalarial therapy for rheumatoid arthritis with a preference for the use of hydroxychloroquine. The most frequently reported risk estimates for serious retinal toxicity were 0.01 and less than or equal to 0.001. Seventy-eight percent of rheumatologists reported 1 to 50% of patients refusing antimalarial therapy, usually because of concern regarding ocular toxicity. Our study indicates the importance of presenting the relevant risk:benefit data in an accurate and comprehensible form to potential recipients.