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Narrative review discusses Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis risks from various medicationsA review explains which drugs may cause severe skin reactions like Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

AI-generated summary of the cited source, checked by automated accuracy review. How we work

Key Takeaway
Note potential SJS/TEN risks with multiple medication classes in this narrative review.

This narrative review addresses the association between Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis and a broad range of medications. The scope includes antibiotics, antiepileptics, allopurinol, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, proton pump inhibitors, immune checkpoint inhibitors, novel antiandrogens, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, and antivirals. The authors synthesize existing knowledge regarding these potential adverse reactions without providing specific incidence rates or statistical analyses. The review does not report sample sizes, follow-up durations, or detailed safety data for the listed drug classes. Consequently, the conclusions remain qualitative and descriptive rather than quantitative. The authors note that specific adverse event rates and tolerability data were not reported in the source material. This lack of numerical detail limits the ability to assess the magnitude of risk for individual drugs. Clinicians should interpret these associations with caution given the absence of rigorous statistical evidence in this narrative format. The review serves to highlight potential safety concerns rather than to establish definitive causal links or provide precise risk estimates for clinical decision-making.

Severe skin reactions are scary. Conditions like Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis can happen when the body attacks its own skin. This review gathers information about many different medicines to see which ones might trigger these problems. It covers antibiotics, antiepileptics, allopurinol, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. It also looks at proton pump inhibitors, immune checkpoint inhibitors, novel antiandrogens, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, and antivirals. The goal is to help healthcare providers make safer choices for their patients. Understanding these links is vital for preventing harm before it starts. Because this is a narrative review, it summarizes existing reports rather than testing new drugs in a clinical trial. The authors carefully note that the evidence comes from various sources and does not always prove a direct cause and effect. Readers should know that not every person taking these medicines will have a reaction. However, being aware of the potential risks allows for better monitoring and earlier intervention if symptoms appear. This knowledge empowers patients to ask questions and doctors to prescribe with confidence.

What this means for you:
This review lists many drugs that might cause rare but serious skin reactions.

Study Details

Study typeSystematic review
EvidenceLevel 1
PublishedJun 2026
View Original Abstract ↓
Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) are rare yet life-threatening severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions (SCARs), characterized by high mortality and substantial morbidity risks. Identifying potential high-risk drugs associated with SJS/TEN is crucial for guiding clinical preventive interventions, enabling early detection, and enhancing risk management. With the rapid advancement of data science, adverse drug reaction (ADR) database mining has emerged as a powerful tool for systematically investigating the drug-SJS/TEN association, effectively overcoming the limitations of traditional case reports and small-sample studies regarding data scale and conclusion generalizability. This review summarizes recent advances in identifying potential high-risk drugs for SJS/TEN based on ADR database mining, with all included studies retrieved from peer-reviewed journals and strictly focused on SJS/TEN. We classify and discuss the major potential high-risk drug categories, including antibiotics, antiepileptics, allopurinol, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), novel antiandrogens, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, antivirals, and others. We also summarize their associated genetic susceptibilities, median onset times, and underlying mechanisms. These findings provide valuable references for enhancing medication safety and mitigating severe adverse drug reactions in clinical practice.
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