Drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DiHS)/drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS): An update in 2019

Abstract

The aim of this review was to provide an updated overview of drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DiHS)/drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS). Several new insights have been made, particularly with regards to the diagnosis, pathogenesis and care of some important complications and sequelae. The indication of herpesvirus reactivations in diagnosis in the assessment of disease severity is now better specified. Nevertheless, because fatal complications and autoimmune sequelae have been under-recognized, there is a clear need to identify effective parameters for assessing disease severity and predicting prognosis of the disease in the early phase. In this regard, we have established a scoring system that can be used to monitor severity, predict prognosis and stratify the risk of developing severe complications including fatal cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease. Regulatory T cells are likely to be central to the mechanism and would represent potential targets for therapeutic approaches that can ameliorate inflammatory responses occurring at the acute phase while preventing the subsequent development of harmful outcomes, such as CMV disease and autoimmune diseases.

Keywords: Corticosteroids; Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS); Drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DiHS); Herpesviruses; Regulatory T cells.