What Is Stevens-Johnson Syndrome?

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Overview of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a severe skin reaction, often to a medication. It’s considered a less extreme variant of toxic epidermal necrolysis.

Genetics Home Referencenotes that Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis were once considered separate conditions, they are now seen as part of the same condition, with Stevens-Johnson syndrome being the less severe version of the condition and toxic epidermal necrolysis being more severe.

Symptoms

The condition often presents initially with flu-like symptoms and a fever. This condition quickly worsens and changes.

Within a few days of flu-like symptoms presenting, the skin begins to react. Initially, the skin begins to blister and peel. Usually this starts on the face and the chest but then spreads to the rest of the body.

The blisters and peeling coalesce into large, raw, painful areas of skin. These raw areas are known as erosions and can resemble a burn caused by hot water. Large areas of skin may peel away.

In most cases, Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis affect not only the skin but the mucus membranes. This can cause difficulty swallowing and breathing when it affects the airways. It can also affect the urinary tract and the genitals.

Because mucus membrane is present in the eyes, the condition can cause damage to the eyes as well.

Causes

Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis are most often caused by a reaction to medications. It can also develop as a reaction to an infection. 

Treatment

The Mayo Clinic states that the condition is a serious one, and is considered a medical emergency. Usually, people who develop the condition require hospitalization. The recovery can take weeks, and sometimes months, depending on the case.

Treatment for the condition involves eliminating the underlying cause of the condition, reports Mayo. If the condition is caused by a reaction to a medication, patients need to stop taking that medication to recover. Patients should refrain from using medications closely related to that which caused their reaction.

Complications

Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis can be life-threatening, because it can lead to severe infections. The skin provides a protective barrier from infections, so when the skin is compromised in such a severe way, serious infections can develop and sometimes cannot be treated.

Genetics Home Reference notes that around 10 percent of people with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, the less severe version of the condition, die from the condition. Around 50 percent of people who develop toxic epidermal necrolysis, the more severe version of the condition, die from it.

In the case of people who do survive the condition, it can come with a number of complications, in addition to the painful and devastating effects of the condition itself. Reportedly, some people experience hair loss, excess sweating, abnormal growth of their nails. People may also experience impaired taste, difficulty urinating, and genital abnormalities.

Less commonly, people can develop a chronic eye dryness which can cause vision impairment and light sensitivity.

Lawsuits Filed

Some patients have filed lawsuits after developing Stevens-Johnson syndrome in connection with using a particular medication. Patients often say that if they had been given an adequate warning about the risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, they never would have taken the medication that allegedly caused it.

In some cases, they have filed lawsuits against the companies that make the drug, and in other cases, they have filed medical malpractice lawsuits against their doctors for prescribing the medication. 

Currently, lawyers are investigating a possible connection between Stevens-Johnson syndrome and Lamictal, a drug used to treat seizures and bipolar disorder, and are looking for patients who took Lamictal and developed the condition.