Kayoko Matsunaga

Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) are potentially life-threatening severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions. These diseases are rare, and their onset is difficult to predict because of their idiosyncratic reactivity. The Japan Severe Adverse Reactions Research Group, led by the National Institute of Health Sciences, has operated a nationwide to collect clinical information and genomic samples from patients with SJS/TEN since 2006. This study evaluated the associations of clinical symptoms with sequelae and specific causative drugs/drug groups in Japanese patients with SJS/TEN to identify clinical clues for SJS/TEN treatment and prognosis. Acetaminophen, antibiotics, and carbocisteine were linked to high frequencies of severe ocular symptoms and ocular sequelae (p < 0.05). For erythema and erosion areas, antipyretic analgesics had higher rates of skin symptom affecting <10% of the skin than the other drugs, suggesting narrower lesions (p < 0.004). Hepatic dysfunction, was common in both SJS and TEN, and antiepileptic drugs carried higher risks of hepatic dysfunction than the other drug groups (p = 0.0032). This study revealed that the clinical manifestations of SJS/TEN vary according to the causative drugs.