Allopurinol induced stevens - johnson syndrome - a case report.

Adverse cutaneous reactions to drugs are freqilent, affecting 2 to 3 percent of hospitalised patients. Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a rare, life-threatening drug-induced cutaneous reaction2. Epidermal necrosis causes erosions of the mucous membranes, extensive detachment of the epidermis, and severe constitutional symptoms Drugs are an important cause of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, but infections or a combination of drugs and infections has also been implicated. Although sonic drugs are clearly more often responsible than others, all drugs, especially those introduced within one month of the reaction, should be considered suspect. A limited number of drugs including sulfonamides, anticonvulsant agents, and allopurinol are consistently associated with this syndrome; whether nonsteroida! anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), analgesic agents, and nonsulfonamide antibiotics are associated with it is controversial. Allopurinol, which is most often administered for long periods, is frequently cited as a cause of Stevens-Johnson syndrome The risk is not constant over time. We report a case of allopurino induced Stevens Johnson syndrome presenting after drug usage for 3 weeks.