Poor reporting and documentation in drug-associated Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis – Lessons for medication safety

Stevens‐Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, therefore assigning drug causality is central to preventing reoccurrence 7. Graudins et al. recently demonstrated deficiencies in the long‐term labelling of patients with severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions (cADR). This has significant ramifications, as a single prescribing error in a patient with a history of SJS or TEN has the potential to cause serious morbidity and mortality, especially when commonly employed antibiotics are implicated in up to 50% of cADR 8. What remains unknown is whether or not ADR reporting in SJS and TEN is a widespread problem, and if such ADR reports are also conveyed to primary care physicians.