ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study of a 34-year-old woman. A 34-year-old woman who was 24 weeks pregnant developed sudden-onset sore eyes, mouth and genitalia associated with blisters on her skin. The patient was admitted to hospital by the obstetricians who referred her to the on-call dermatologist. The patient is unwell and distressed. Her temperature is 38.2 °C, blood pressure 180/100 mmHg and pulse rate 110 beats/min. Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a dermatological emergency. Patients should be managed in the intensive care unit by a multidisciplinary team including a dermatologist. Many patients with TEN require sedation and ventilation. Patients should be kept in a warm room. Fluid and enteral nutrition are essential to compensate for high insensible fluid losses and high protein demands. TEN has a reported mortality rate of around 20–40 per cent.
