Physiopathology and treatment of severe drug eruptions.

This review will focus on recent advances concerning the most severe cutaneous drug reactions: the Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and drug reactions with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms. The most significant progress concerned the demonstration that drugs more often than reactive metabolites are immunogenic and induced several kinds of responses. These findings provided the rationale for using new therapeutic approaches, which will be discussed.