Comparison of the causes and clinical features of drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms and stevens-johnson syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) and the Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) are both severe drug reactions. Their pathogenesis and clinical features differ. This study compared the causes and clinical features of SJS and DRESS.


METHODS
We enrolled 31 patients who were diagnosed with DRESS (number=11) and SJS (number=20). We retrospectively compared the clinical and laboratory data of patients with the two disorders.


RESULTS
In both syndromes, the most common prodromal symptoms were itching, fever, and malaise. The liver was commonly involved in DRESS. The mucosal membrane of the oral cavity and eyes was often affected in SJS. The most common causative agents in both diseases were antibiotics (DRESS 4/11 (37%), SJS 8/20 (40%)), followed by anticonvulsants (DRESS 3/11 (27%), SJS 7/20 (35%)). In addition, dapsone, allopurinol, clopidogrel, sulfasalazine and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were sporadic causes.


CONCLUSIONS
The most common causes of DRESS and SJS were antibiotics, followed by anticonvulsants, NSAIDs and sulfonamides. The increase in the use of antibiotics in Korea might explain this finding.
Jeung
Yun-Jin
YJ
Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Lee
Jin-Young
JY
Oh
Mi-Jung
MJ
Choi
Dong-Chull
DC
Lee
Byung-Jae
BJ