ABSTRACT
Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) are rare, rapidly evolving and potentially life-threatening skin reactions, usually resulting from an adverse drug reaction. The term ‘toxic epidermal necrolysis’ was first coined by Lyell in 1956.1 The original paper described four patients who developed skin loss with the appearance of scalding. It subsequently became clear that these initial cases represented two different conditions, ‘true’ TEN and staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome. In 1922 Stevens and Johnson had described two children with conjunctivitis, stomatitis and a cutaneous eruption.2 As further cases emerged, it became apparent that SJS could progress to a stage indistinguishable from TEN, and most authors now consider these conditions to be different points on the same spectrum of this cutaneous reaction pattern.
