ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study of A 35-year-old female. A 35-year-old female presents with a 2-day history of a sore throat, malaise and a rash. Her lips have become crusted and painful. Three weeks previously her antiepileptic medication had been changed from topiramate to carbamazepine. The cutaneous eruption consists of dusky erythema which is patchy on her face and limbs but more confluent over her trunk. Between 20 and 30 per cent of the skin surface is involved in the eruption. This patient has developed Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS) secondary to carbamazepine. SJS is a severe, immune-complex mediated, drug hypersensitivity eruption that affects the skin and mucous membranes. Patients with SJS need management in hospital by a multidisciplinary team including dermatologists, high-dependency doctors and nurses, ophthalmologists and oral physicians.
