Purpose: To evaluate the epidemiology, possible etiologic factors, complications and treatment of a group of patients with ocular complications secondary to Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
Methods: Twenty-two consecutive patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome were studied. The patients were examined according to the following protocol: identification, previous clinical history, systemic and ophthalmologic manifestations and possible etiologic factors.
Results: A total of 22 patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome were identified. Fifteen patients (68%) were female, 7 (32%) male. Ten patients were caucasian (45.4%), 9 brownish (22%), 2 black (9%) and 1 yellow (4.5%). Mean age was 27.1 (8 to 62). Medications were the most commonly identified etiologic factor (90.9%), followed by skin herpetic infection (4.5%) and idiopathic (4.5%). Dipirone (36.3%) was the most frequently identified agent, followed by seizure medications (22.7%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (13.6%), sulfonamides (9.0%), penicillin (4.5%), spironolactone (4.5%) and dihydroprogestagen and stradiol (4.5%). Twenty-one patients (95.4%) had ophthalmologic complications and sixteen patients (72.7%) underwent ophthalmologic surgical procedures.
Conclusions: The results of this study show important epidemiological aspects of Stevens-Johnson syndrome in our environment, specially related to age, etiology and ocular complications.