[Toxic epidermal necrolysis treated with cyclosporin A]

Abstract

Lyell's syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is an extremely rare and dangerous severe skin disorder characterized by a high proportion of cutaneous lesions leading to necrosis and subsequent shedding of the epidermis over large areas of skin after an idiosyncratic reaction triggered by a drug. The patients who suffer it pathophysiologically have similar complications to those seen in major burns. TEN traditionally has been treated with immunomodulators such as glucocorticoids, intravenous gammaglobulin, cyclophosphamide, thalidomide or plasmapheresis. A variable, and sometimes contradictory response, has been obtained in some series. Cyclosporin A has been tested as a single immunomodulator in patients with TEN since the end of the 90 s in a limited number series. The results have improved in regards to survival compared with studies with other drugs. We report three consecutive cases of toxic epidermal necrolysis treated with cyclosporin A in this article.