Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

Amanda M. Oakley  1 , Karthik Krishnamurthy  2
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Free Books & Documents
Book

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

Amanda M. Oakley et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Previously known as Lyell syndrome, Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are variants of the same condition and are distinct from erythema multiforme major staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome­, and other drug eruptions.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis is a rare, acute, serious, and potentially fatal skin reaction in which there are sheet-like skin and mucosal loss accompanied by systemic symptoms. Medications are causative in over 80% of cases.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis is classified by the extent of the detached skin surface area.

  1. Stevens-Johnson syndrome: less than 10% body surface area

  2. Overlap Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis: 10% to 30% body surface area

  3. Toxic epidermal necrolysis more than 30% body surface area

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Amanda Oakley declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Karthik Krishnamurthy declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Jha N, Alexander E, Kanish B, Badyal DK. A Study of Cutaneous Adverse Drug Reactions in a Tertiary Care Center in Punjab. Indian Dermatol Online J. 2018 Sep-Oct;9(5):299-303. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Auyeung J, Lee M. Successful Treatment of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome with Cyclosporine and Corticosteroid. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2018 Jul-Aug;71(4):272-275. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Iyer G, Srinivasan B, Agarwal S, Ravindran R, Rishi E, Rishi P, Krishnamoorthy S. Boston Type 2 keratoprosthesis- mid term outcomes from a tertiary eye care centre in India. Ocul Surf. 2019 Jan;17(1):50-54. - PubMed
    1. Frey N, Bodmer M, Bircher A, Jick SS, Meier CR, Spoendlin J. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis in Association with Commonly Prescribed Drugs in Outpatient Care Other than Anti-Epileptic Drugs and Antibiotics: A Population-Based Case-Control Study. Drug Saf. 2019 Jan;42(1):55-66. - PubMed
    1. Sato S, Kanbe T, Tamaki Z, Furuichi M, Uejima Y, Suganuma E, Takano T, Kawano Y. Clinical features of Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis. Pediatr Int. 2018 Aug;60(8):697-702. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources