allopurinol and Pulmonary-Aspergillosis

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are rare but severe adverse drug reactions with high mortality. The use of corticosteroids and the management of complications (e.g. infection) in SJS/TEN remains controversial.. A retrospective study was performed among 213 patients with SJS/TEN who were hospitalized in our department between 2008 and 2018, to investigate the causative agents, clinical characteristics, complications, and prognoses of SJS/TEN mainly treated by systemic corticosteroids combined with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).. The causative drugs of SJS/TEN in these patients mainly consisted of antibiotics (61/213, 28.6%), anticonvulsants (52/213, 24.4%), and nonsteroidal anti-inflammation drugs (24/213, 11.3%), among which carbamazepine was the most frequently administered drug (39/213, 18.3%). There were significant differences in the maximum dosage, time to corticosteroid tapering, and the total dosage of corticosteroid between the SJS group and the TEN group, as well as among the three groups (P = 0.000), whereas in the initial dose of corticosteroid was not statistically significant among the three groups (P = 0.277). In a series of 213 cases, 18.4 cases (8.6%) were expected to die based on the score for the toxic epidermal necrolysis (SCORTEN) system, whereas eight deaths (3.8%) were observed; the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.067; SMR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.48). The most common complications were electrolyte disturbance (174/213, 81.7%), drug-induced liver injury (64/213, 30.0%), infection (53/213, 24.9%), and fasting blood sugar above 10 mmol/L (33/213, 15.5%). Respiratory system (22/213, 10.3%) and wound (11/213, 5.2%) were the most common sites of infection. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the maximum blood sugar (≥10 mmol/L), the time to corticosteroid tapering (≥12 d), the maximum dosage of corticosteroid (≥1.5 mg/kg/d), and the total body surface area (TBSA) (≥10%) were defined as the most relevant factors of the infection.. The mortality of patients in this study was lower than that predicted by SCORTEN, although there was no significant difference between them. Hyperglycemia, high-dose corticosteroid, and the TBSA were closely related to the infections of patients with SJS/TEN.

Topics: Acute Kidney Injury; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Allopurinol; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Anticonvulsants; Blood Glucose; Body Surface Area; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury; China; Cohort Studies; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Female; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage; Glucocorticoids; Gout Suppressants; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Hypertension; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; Immunologic Factors; Klebsiella Infections; Male; Middle Aged; Pneumonia; Pulmonary Aspergillosis; Respiratory Tract Infections; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Stevens-Johnson Syndrome; Survival Rate; Water-Electrolyte Imbalance; Wound Infection

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are severe adverse cutaneous reactions to drugs. We report here the first case of severe pneumonia caused by an unusual combined infection with Pneumocystis carinii (jiroveci), parainfluenza virus type 3, cytomegalovirus and Aspergillus fumigatus in a 63-year-old female patient with allopurinol-induced SJS/TEN overlap syndrome. Following treatment with high-dose systemic corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin for SJS/TEN, her mucocutaneous lesions improved and she was due to be discharged. However, 15 days after cessation of corticosteroids, she developed pneumonia. Broncho-alveolar lavage revealed that the cause of infection was Pneumocystis carinii (jiroveci), parainfluenza virus type 3, cytomegalovirus and Aspergillus. These findings indicate that patients with SJS/TEN, particularly those treated with systemic corticosteroids, may be susceptible to infection with combinations of pathological agents resulting from damage to the bronchial epithelia.

Topics: Adrenal Cortex Hormones; Allopurinol; Anti-Infective Agents; Aspergillus fumigatus; Cytomegalovirus Infections; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Humans; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; Lung Diseases, Interstitial; Middle Aged; Parainfluenza Virus 3, Human; Pneumocystis carinii; Pneumonia, Pneumocystis; Pulmonary Aspergillosis; Radiography; Respiration, Artificial; Respirovirus Infections; Severity of Illness Index; Stevens-Johnson Syndrome; Treatment Outcome