Clinical study of confirmed drug eruptions over the past five and a half years

Abstract

We examined 121 patients suspected of having drug eruptions from July 1991 through December 1996. The causative drugs were confirmed in 65 patients out of the 121 with at least one of provocation test, skin test and drug- induced lymphocyte stimulation test. Because two patients showed positive reactions to more than one drug, a total 68 cases were thus detected. The clinical characteristics of the eruptions were exanthematic type in 35 cases, urticarial type in 8, both erythroderma and fixed drug eruption type in 7, photosensitive type in 4 and other types in 5. The causative drugs were carbamazepine in 6 cases and 5 cases each for amoxicillin and allylisopropyl acetyl urea. Provocation tests were performed on 42 out of 68 cases and a positive reaction appeared in 34 out of 63 cases undergoing with skin tests.