The following are the most important diseases or complications that may be contributed to by drug exanthema:
Skin and subcutaneous (L00-L99).
- Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) – pinhead-sized pustules.
- Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS; DRESS syndrome; drug exanthem with eosinophilia (elevation of eosinophil granulocytes in the blood count) and systemic symptoms/with skin and organ changes) – incidence (frequency of new cases) of 1: 1. 000 to 1: 10,000 drug administration; symptomatology: exanthema (skin rash) that may resemble maculopapular exanthema (MPE; maculopapular: blotchy and with papules, ie. with vesicles), generalized lymphadenopathy (lymph node enlargement; 50% of all patients), fever, internal organ involvement (alveolitis (disease of the lung tissue and alveoli (air sacs)), carditis (inflammation of the entire heart), hepatitis (liver inflammation)/three- to fivefold elevation of liver enzymes, Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), nephritis/renal inflammation), and hematologic changes (eosinophilia, atypical lymphocytes, and a leukocytosis and lymphocytosis/increase in white blood cells/lymphocytes in the blood). Development often only after several weeks of taking the triggering drug.
- Lyell syndrome (epidermolysis acuta toxica) as a maximum variant of the drug exanthema – acute destruction of a large part of the epidermis, which is life-threatening.
- Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS, synonym: erythema exsudativum multiforme majus and dermatostomatitis Baader) – a skin disease resulting in high fever and exanthema; probably caused by mycoplasma or a consequence of drug allergy
- Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) – in which apoptosis mechanisms in the epidermis (epidermis) play a role.
