Despite its popularity, the Allopurinol drug Zyloprim has been linked with serious Zyloprim SJS side effects, new research suggests.

Zyloprim (also known as Allopurinol) is a medication used to treat chronic gout, a condition which causes high levels of uric acid in the blood, known as hyperuricemia.

Zyloprim belongs to a class of drugs called xanthine oxidase inhibitors, which unsurprisingly inhibit the activity of the enzyme xanthine oxidase in order to reduce the body’s uric acid production.

Most commonly, this treatment is required for chronic gout symptoms, as well as certain kinds of kidney stones.

In some cases, Zyloprim is prescribed to prevent rises in uric acid levels due to chemotherapy treatment.

As with any drug, Zyloprim comes with some significant side effects.

According to recent research, this medication has been associated with serious drug allergy reactions, like Zyloprim SJS side effects.

What is Stevens Johnson Syndrome?

Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is a very rare but extremely dangerous skin reaction that has effects similar to a severe burn.

Though Stevens Johnson Syndrome symptoms can first appear to be fairly tame medication rashes, it quickly evolves into a more widespread and painful problem.

The top layer of the affected skin begins to blister and peel, and patients are often treated in a hospital’s burn unit.

In some cases, Stevens Johnson Syndrome can be fatal. Even patients who survive are often left with a variety of complications, including eye problems, secondary skin infections, or internal organ damage.

Zyloprim SJS Side Effects

SJS is associated with certain medications, including Zyloprim.

The American Journal of Medicine published a new study suggesting that Zyloprim SJS side effects may be more common than SJS effects associated with other drugs.

A research team based in Canada studied information from Vancouver General Hospital patients with SJS or TEN over the course of a ten-year period to determine common catalysts for the condition.

According to the study, generic Zyloprim was the single most common medication for which patients were admitted to Vancouver General with SJS.

Indeed, approximately 20 percent of all SJS/TEN cases in a ten-year period at the hospital were linked with Zyloprim usage.

The researchers also found that the risk of suffering from Zyloprim SJS side effects was, at least in part, race-specific.

For instance, Chinese patients showed an increased mortality risk from Zyloprim SJS side effects at 47 percent, while Causasian patients showed a mortality risk of 14 percent.

Though this particular study’s findings are specific to Vancouver General Hospital, a 2008 multinational study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology showed that in both Europe and Israel, Zyloprim users made up around 18 percent of all SJS and TEN cases.

Zyloprim SJS Side Effects Lawsuits

Severe Steven Johnson Syndrome reactions are relatively uncommon, but they can be fatal, and are at the very least life-altering. Some patients respond by filing SJS lawsuits.

SJS lawsuits allege that drug manufacturers failed to adequately warn the public about the risk of SJS associated with their drugs.

Filing a lawsuit cannot make up for a patient’s physical pain and suffering from Zyloprim SJS side effects but plaintiffs involved in SJS lawsuits can seek to recover medical expenses and lost wages.