This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Stevens - Johnson syndrome (SJS)

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Stevens Johnson syndrome is a severe and sometimes fatal form of erythema multiforme

  • there is more widespread skin and mucosal involvement than in erythema multiforme (1)

  • although erythema multiforme (EM), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) were thought to belong to the same group of disorders there is supporting evidence that EM differs from the other 2 diseases in:
    • clinical features
    • severity
    • cause
    • dermographic variables (2)

  • SJS is a rare, life threatening mucocutaneous condition with epidermal detachment, acute skin blisters and erosions in the mucous membranes (3)

  • detachment is seen in less than 10% of the total body surface areas (3)

  • the disease can be seen in all ages including children, infants and sometimes in newborns as well (2)

  • there is a higher incidence in children and young adults, and it is twice as common in males than females. There may be pulmonary, gastrointestinal, cardiac or renal involvement (4)

  • study evidence showed that antibiotics were associated with more than one-quarter of SJS/TEN cases described worldwide, and sulfonamide antibiotics remained the most important association (5)

With respect to systemic interventions for treatment of Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and SJS/TEN overlap syndrome (6):

  • found when compared to corticosteroids, etanercept may result in mortality reduction
  • certainty of evidence for disease-specific mortality is very low for corticosteroids versus no corticosteroids, IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulins) versus no IVIG and cyclosporin versus IVIG

Reference:


Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.