Anticonvulsant hypersensitivity syndrome study of 60 cases.

Sixty patients of anticonvulsant hypersensitivity syndrome were studied. Fever and skin rash were present in all patients with peripheral blood leucocytosis and eosinophilia in 30 patients. Phenytoin was the commonest offending drug(39 patients) followed by carbamazepine (19 patients). AHS appeared after 2-12 weeks of the intake of offending drugs. Head injury was the primary illness in 43 patients (70 per cent) followed by brain tumors (9 patients). Cross reactivity between phenytoin and carbamazepine was seen in 3 patients. Most patients recovered well with withdrawal of the offending drugs and treatment with topical corticosteroids and antihistamines. There was only one fatality.