Stevens-Johnson syndrome

Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a type of severe skin reaction, described as a milder form of toxic epidermal necrolysis and part of the same disease spectrum of severe cutaneous adverse reactions. It typically begins with fever and flu-like symptoms before the skin begins to blister and peel, forming painful raw areas, with mucous membranes such as the mouth also affected. The most common cause is certain medications, including lamotrigine, carbamazepine and sulfonamide antibiotics, though infections such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae can also trigger it and the cause can remain unknown. The syndrome is named for American pediatricians Albert Mason Stevens and Frank Chambliss Johnson, who jointly published a description of the disorder in the American Journal of Diseases of Children in 1922.