EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ADVERSE CUTANEOUS REACTIONS TO DRUGS

Adverse cutaneous reactions to drugs are among the most frequent adver se reactions to many systemically administered therapeutic agents. In addition to these reactions resulting in discontinuation of drugs impo rtant to a patient's treatment, some adverse cutaneous reactions to dr ugs may result in substantial morbidity or even death. The early recog nition of these clinically important reactions is made on clinical gro unds. Epidemiologic data do suggest however, that a relatively small n umber of drugs are responsible most often for these most serious react ions.