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Numerous drugs have been implicated as causes of the rare but serious conditions Stevens - Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). Those most frequently cited are sulfonamides, anticonvulsants, and allopurinol. These investigators performed a large international case - control study to assess the risk of TEN and SJS associated with the use of specific drugs.
Drug use before the onset of disease was compared in 245 patients with TEN or SJS and 1147 control patients hospitalized for other reasons. Relative risks were calculated.
Sulfonamide antibiotics conferred the highest risk, with 4.5 cases per million users per week. Trimethoprim - sulfamethoxazole was the sulfonamide most frequently used by affected patients. Some ris…