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Information about Stevens Johnson syndrome

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) is a severe and potentially life-threatening
(15% of cases) disease, it is a hypersensitivity complex affecting the skin
and the mucous membranes, a severe expression of erythema multiforme (and so
SJS is also called erythema multiforme major).

SJS is characterized by fever, sore throat, and headache leading to the
sudden development of circular mucocutaneous lesions that can cover the
majority of the skin. These lesions begin as macules and can develop into
papules, vesicles, bullae, or urticarial plaques. The most extreme cases are
termed Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrome (TENS), in these cases the entire
skin is affected.

Treatment is initially similar to that of patients with thermal burns, and
continued care can only be supportive and symptomatic, there is no specific
drug treatment (2002).

The cause of SJS is either infections (usually following viral infections
such as herpes simplex virus, influenza, mumps, cat-scratch fever,
histoplasmosis, Epstein-Barr virus, or similar), drug-induced (penicillins,
barbiturate, sulfas, phenytoin), malignancy-related (carcinomas and
lymphomas), or idiopathic (50% of the time)

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