Cutaneous morphological patterns of adverse drug reactions: a study of 50 cases

Background Adverse drug reactions are common complications in drug therapy. About 3-8% of all hospital admissions are the results of adverse drug reactions, and these can cause significant disability to patients. Objectives To evaluate the clinical spectrum of all cutaneous adverse drug reactions and to establish the causal link between suspected drug and the reaction. Patients and methods This observational cross-sectional study was done among the patients having cutaneous drug eruptions. 50 consecutive patients were enrolled. Purposive sampling was done. In every patient a detailed history was taken. Examination was carried out to find out the type of cutaneous reactions. Data were collected in a predesigned structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done with the help of SPSS. Results Out of 50 respondents, 20% had a history of indigenous drug intake followed by 18% sulphonamides, 14% NSAIDs, 14% quinolones, 8% anticonvulsants, 8% cephalosporins, 6% penicillins, 4% antituberculous drugs, 4% metronidazole and 4% tetracyclines. 34% had maculopapular rash, 24% Stevens-Johnson syndrome, 12% exfoliative dermatitis, 10% urticaria, 8% fixed drug eruption, 8% erythema multiforme, 8% bullae, 6% vesicles, 2% lichenoid eruption and 2% scaly eruptions. Conclusion Frequency distribution of the offending drugs and the adverse reactions revealed that cephradine was responsible for maculopapular rash, sulphonamides for Stevens-Johnson syndrome, indigenous medicines for exfoliative dermatitis, NSAIDs for urticaria and paracetamol for fixed drug eruption