Abstract
Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are severe cutaneous adverse reactions. Although viral reactivation is associated with DRESS syndrome, its role in TEN remains unclear. An 80-year-old woman visited our hospital because of fever and skin eruption. DRESS syndrome was diagnosed and was thought to caused by the use of the drug allopurinol. She was treated by discontinuation of the drug and administration of systemic steroids. She recovered from DRESS syndrome and was discharged from the hospital with tapering doses of steroids prescribed. One week after discharge, she visited our hospital again as the skin rash recurred and oral pain as well as oral and ocular mucosal lesions developed. In addition to the skin rash, blisters and Nikolsky's sign that were different from the skin lesions present in the previous DRESS syndrome were observed. Unlike those in DRESS syndrome, the viral serological test results were positive for anti-cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgM and CMV polymerase chain reaction. Therefore, it was thought that TEN was due to reactivation of CMV and she was treated this with ganciclovir and intravenous immunoglobulin. Here, we report a case of TEN caused by viral reactivation after DRESS syndrome developed after use of allopurinol which recovered after steroid treatment.
References
1. Cacoub P, Musette P, Descamps V, Meyer O, Speirs C, Finzi L, et al. The DRESS syndrome: a literature review. Am J Med. 2011; 124:588–597.
2. Kardaun SH, Sekula P, Valeyrie-Allanore L, Liss Y, Chu CY, Creamer D, et al. Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS): an original multisystem adverse drug reaction. Results from the prospective RegiSCAR study. Br J Dermatol. 2013; 169:1071–1080.
3. Mustafa SS, Ostrov D, Yerly D. Severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions: presentation, risk factors, and management. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2018; 18:26.
4. Gerull R, Nelle M, Schaible T. Toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome: a review. Crit Care Med. 2011; 39:1521–1532.
5. Khalaf D, Toema B, Dabbour N, Jehani F. Toxic epidermal necrolysis associated with severe cytomegalovirus infection in a patient on regular hemodialysis. Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis. 2011; 3:e2011004.
6. Aihara M, Sugita Y, Takahashi S, Nagatani T, Arata S, Takeuchi K, et al. Anticonvulsant hypersensitivity syndrome associated with reactivation of cytomegalovirus. Br J Dermatol. 2001; 144:1231–1234.
7. Bocquet H, Bagot M, Roujeau JC. Drug-induced pseudolymphoma and drug hypersensitivity syndrome (Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms: DRESS). Semin Cutan Med Surg. 1996; 15:250–257.
8. Kardaun SH, Sidoroff A, Valeyrie-Allanore L, Halevy S, Davidovici BB, Mockenhaupt M, et al. Variability in the clinical pattern of cutaneous side-effects of drugs with systemic symptoms: does a DRESS syndrome really exist? Br J Dermatol. 2007; 156:609–611.
9. Pichler WJ, Adam J, Daubner B, Gentinetta T, Keller M, Yerly D. Drug hypersensitivity reactions: pathomechanism and clinical symptoms. Med Clin North Am. 2010; 94:645–664. xv
10. Mockenhaupt M. Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis: clinical patterns, diagnostic considerations, etiology, and therapeutic management. Semin Cutan Med Surg. 2014; 33:10–16.
11. Schwartz RA, McDonough PH, Lee BW. Toxic epidermal necrolysis: Part II. Prognosis, sequelae, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2013; 69:187.e1–187.e16. quiz 203–4.
12. Ishida T, Kano Y, Mizukawa Y, Shiohara T. The dynamics of herpesvirus reactivations during and after severe drug eruptions: their relation to the clinical phenotype and therapeutic outcome. Allergy. 2014; 69:798–805.
13. Letko E, Papaliodis DN, Papaliodis GN, Daoud YJ, Ahmed AR, Foster CS. Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis: a review of the literature. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2005; 94:419–436. quiz 436–8, 456.
14. Hodson EM, Craig JC, Strippoli GF, Webster AC. Antiviral medications for preventing cytomegalovirus disease in solid organ transplant recipients. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013; (2):CD003774.
15. Soriano A, Smerieri N, Bonilauri S, De Marco L, Cavazza A, Salvarani C. Colonic perforation due to severe cytomegalovirus disease in granulomatosis with polyangiitis after immunosuppression. Clin Rheumatol. 2018; 37:1427–1432.
16. Truhan AP, Ahmed AR. Corticosteroids: a review with emphasis on complications of prolonged systemic therapy. Ann Allergy. 1989; 62:375–391.
17. Meyers JD, Flournoy N, Thomas ED. Risk factors for cytomegalovirus infection after human marrow transplantation. J Infect Dis. 1986; 153:478–488.
18. Choi HJ, Oh SH, Chang SE, Lee MW, Choi JH, Moon KC, et al. A case of cutaneous cytomegalovirus infection in a renal transplant patient. Korean J Dermatol. 2005; 43:999–1002.