FATAL VACUOLAR CARDIOMYOPATHY CAUSED BY C HRONIC CHLOROQUINE MEDICATION

Clinical and morphological findings recorded in an 81-year-old woman p atient with a 45-year history of rheumatoid arthritis treated with lon g-term chloroquine therapy are reported. The cause of death was low ca rdiac output syndrome, which upon autopsy and postmortem toxicological analyses was classified as vacuolar chloroquine-induced cardiomyopath y. The pathogenesis and the morphological and clinical characteristics of cardiotoxic effects of chloroquine are reviewed.