[A fatal case of drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome due to allopurinol].

A 83-years-old Japanese woman visited our hospital, complaining of fever, erythema over the entire body and erosion on the lips after taking allopurinol for a month. Laboratory examinations showed liver dysfunction and renal failure. The histological study showed dense lymphocytic and eosinophilic perivascular infiltrations in the upper dermis at the erythematous lesion. We withdrew administration and started steroid pulse therapy. The eruption subsided after a week, but liver dysfunction was not controlled by treatment with corticosteroid (PSL 15 mg/day). She suffered from sepsis and DIC, and despite of intensive therapy, she died of the disease. We measured blood concentration of allopurinol and oxypurinol after stopping drug administration. Blood concentration of oxypurinol was high for nine days at that time. We diagnosed this case as DIHS due to allopurinol because of a significant increase of anti HHV-6 and CMV IgG titer.