Which New Medications May Cause SJS or TEN?

A useful summary of which drugs are most likely to cause these severe adverse reactions

New drugs come to market regularly. Rare reactions, including severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs), are not often observed during licensing studies. It is therefore important to develop a means of identifying agents with the potential to trigger Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS; TEN) and to prescribe them only when clearly indicated, with an explanation to patients about the risk.

EuroSCAR (a European case-control surveillance of SCAR) is a group of multinational dermatologists who have banded together to collect data on severe drug reactions. Between 1997 and 2001, they evaluated 379 patients with SJS/TEN and matched each by age, gender, and date of hospitalization with 3 controls. From this database, they …

Reviewing Author

Jeffrey P. Callen, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory board XOMA; Eli Lilly; Celgene

Equity Various trust accounts

Editorial boards JAMA Dermatology; UpToDate

Leadership positions in professional societies Association of Professors of Dermatology (President-Elect)