Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is a painful allergic reaction some patients have to a medication. Lamictal (Lamotrigine), is one of the medications commonly associated with the affliction.

According to the clinical studies, 10 percent of Lamictal users experience a rash, though not all cases turn out to be SJS. A number of other drugs can induce an antibiotic rash as well.

Stevens Johnson Syndrome is infamously characterized by the skin peeling off, and for causing the patient to suffer permanent skin damage or some form of blindness.

Luckily SJS and its more severe form, Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN,) are fairly rare. Deaths are even rarer, with the mortality rate for SJS between 1 and 5 percent, and the mortality rate for TEN patients between 25 and 35 percent.

Still, researchers search for a way to decrease the likelihood of the reaction occurring. A recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine tried to determine which drugs are most likely to cause SJS or TEN, and which patients are at the highest risk.

Overview of Stevens Johnson Syndrome Study

Canadian researchers studied the charts of 64 patients at Vancouver General Hospital who had been admitted for SJS and TEN from 2001 to 2011. The researchers were able to identify a trigger for the SJS or TEN in 75 percent of the cases. Thirteen of the patients were taking more than one drug, making it harder to narrow down which drug triggered the allergic reaction.

The research showed the most common trigger medications to be anticonvulsants like Dilantin (Phenytoin) and Lamictal (Lamotrigine), as well as antibiotics like Amoxiciliin, Cipro (Ciprofloxacin), and Allopuriniol.

The also study took into account patients’ ethnicity in an attempt to identify possible genetic sensitivity.

Based on the findings, the study authors warned that patients of Asian descent may be at higher risk for developing Stevens Johnson Syndrome or Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, and should take extra caution before starting the medications carbamazepine or allopurinol.