AN INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIVE CASE-CONTROL STUDY OF SEVERE CUTANEOUSADVERSE REACTIONS (SCAR) - DESIGN AND METHODS

A multicenter international case-control study has been designed to el ucidate the etiology of Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal n ecrolysis (TEN). Although these diseases occur rarely, the morbidity i s high and the mortality for TEN is of the order of 30%. These serious dermatologic conditions have often been linked to exposure to drugs. Infective and autoimmune diseases, as well as other non-drug risk fact ors, have also been postulated to be of importance in increasing the r isk. The design and methods are described, with particular attention t o the unique challenges for an epidemiologic study of these conditions .