Aripiprazole induced acute transient bilateral myopia: A case report

Abstract

Background: Aripiprazole is an atypical antipsychoticdrug. Acute transient myopia is a rare response to sys-temic medication. Unspecified ocular side effects ofaripiprazole have rarely been reported. To the best ofour knowledge, only 3 cases of aripiprazole inducedmyopia and diplopia have been reported in the litera-ture. The aim of this article is to present a case of ar-ipiprazole-induced acute transient myopia.Case Report: A 30 year-old woman underwent treat-ment for 5 days with aripiprazole and presented withbilateral painless blurred vision. The patient s uncor-rected visual acuity was 2/10 in both eyes and her bestcorrected visual acuity was 10/10 in both eyes witha refractive error of -3.00 diopters using a standard Snellen chart. Adding 2 mgs of biperiden a day to hertreatment regimen decreased her blurred vision symp-toms. After discontinuation of aripiprazole treatmentand cross-switching to Paliperidon palmitate (75 mg/month) her blurred vision completely resolved. Thesame side effect did not re-occur when checked on her6-month follow up.Conclusion: Ophthalmologists as well as psychiatristsmust be aware of this myopic shift and should also askthese patients about medicine usage, especially aripip-razole. Ophthalmologists should consult the prescrib-ing psychiatrist and stop the drug immediately to re-verse this temporary condition.Keywords: Aripiprazole, drug induced, myopia, transient