Drug Reactions
As part of our commitment to resident education, Cutis is excited to offer this monthly section with board-relevant, easy-to-review material.
This month’s fact sheet will review common drug reactions including their clinical presentation, associated signs, symptoms and laboratory abnormalities, time of onset, implicated drugs, pathology, and treatment and mortality.
Practice Question Answers
1. RegiSCAR is a scoring method used for what drug reaction?
a. RegiSCAR is a diagnostic scoring method for DRESS/DIHS
b. RegiSCAR is a diagnostic scoring method for FDE
c. RegiSCAR is a diagnostic scoring method for SJS
d. RegiSCAR predicts mortality rate for AGEP
e. RegiSCAR predicts mortality rate for SJS
2. DRESS/DIHS is associated with what mortality rate?
a. 0%
b. 1%–5%
c. 5%–10%
d. 5%–30%
e. 10%–40%
3. Unlike other drug eruptions that typically develop 1 to 2 weeks after drug initiation, which drug eruption has a relatively late onset, often 3 weeks after drug initiation?
a. AGEP
b. DRESS/DIHS
c. exanthematous/morbilliform drug eruption
d. FDE
e. SJS
4. A patient develops a morbilliform eruption 14 days after starting an anticonvulsant. What additional finding(s) make DRESS/DIHS more likely than a common morbilliform drug rash?
a. hypocalcemia
b. lymphadenopath
c. prominent facial edema
d. A and C
e. B and C
5. Which drug is commonly implicated in the nonpigmenting variant of FDE?
a. barbiturates
b. carbamazepine
c. NSAIDs
d. pseudoephedrine
e. sulfonamides
