Introduction:

Epidermal Necrolysis is a serious and potentially fatal reaction, induced mainly by drugs. It includes 2 clinical pictures that present histological, etio-pathogenic similarities, but differ in the percentage of affected skin: Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. There are intermediate tables between both entities. The objective of the work is to communicate features epidemiological cases of Epidermal Necrolysis reported at a National Hospital in a period of 25 years.

Materials and methods:

Retrospective, descriptive study of the cases of Epidermal Necrolysis in its variants Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis and intermediate tables registered in the Dermatology Service of the National Hospital in the period 1992-2017.

Results:

46 cases were registered, 27 of Stevens-Johnson, 15 of Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis and 4 intermediate. Cases were observed in both sexes equally, with an average age of 26.7 years (SD 20.69) The drugs most frequently involved were antibiotics in 16 cases (penicillin and derivatives in the first place), anticonvulsants (13 cases), predominantly diphenylhydantoin and anti-inflammatory-analgesics (11 cases). The treatment consisted of general measures in all, systemic corticoids in 21 cases and gamma globulin in 3. The overall mortality was 28%, reaching 46% in Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis.

Conclusions:

Epidermal necrolysis is a rare but serious condition, with high mortality, caused mainly by antibiotics and anticonvulsants in this series, as in most other series.

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