• Burns · Nov 2024

    Lamotrigine Emerging as a Driver of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis: An 8-Year Retrospective Study.

    • Joshua Zev Glahn, Mariana N Almeida, Alejandro Kochen, Olivier Noel, Viola Stogner, Henry C Hsia, and Alisa Savetamal.
    • Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.
    • Burns. 2024 Nov 1; 50 (8): 211421232114-2123.

    BackgroundStevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) represent severe manifestations of a potentially life-threatening spectrum defined by a desquamating rash of the skin and mucous membranes. This study was prompted by the observed increase in the off-label use of lamotrigine as a causal agent in SJS/TEN in our regional burn center.MethodsA retrospective cohort of 48 patients presenting to the Connecticut Burn Center from 2015-2022 with suspicion for SJS/TEN were reviewed for age, sex, causative drug, presenting symptoms, hospital course, biopsy confirmation, length of stay, comorbidities, and 30-day mortality. Descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to identify trends in causative agent, clinical presentation, and mortality.ResultsThirty patients in our cohort received a final diagnosis of SJS/TEN. While antibiotics remain the most frequent cause of SJS/TEN across the study period (33.3 %, n = 10), the incidence of cases attributable to lamotrigine increased from 1 case between 2015 and 2018 (6.7 %) to 6 cases between 2019 and 2022 (40 %). In 2020 alone, 50 % of all cases were attributable to lamotrigine (n = 4). Of the patients where lamotrigine was implicated, 71.4 % (n = 5) were prescribed lamotrigine for off-label use in the treatment of non-bipolar mood disorders. The average lamotrigine-associated SJS/TEN patient was younger (p < 0.001), had fewer comorbidities, and was more likely to be female than the general SJS/TEN population.ConclusionOff-label use of lamotrigine is emerging as a major driver of SJS/TEN with notable changes in patient demographics. Further research is necessary to understand how changing trends in the patient population will impact clinical course and optimal management.Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd and International Society of Burns Injuries. All rights reserved.

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