Skin eruption with gabapentin in a patient with repeated AED-induced Stevens-Johnson's syndrome

Skin eruptions have been reported with the use of all antiepileptic drugs a nd there is a significant risk of cross-reactivity between these agents in causing serious eruptions such as Stevens-Johnson's Syndrome. Gabepentin is usually considered a safe agent for patients with a previous history of dr ug allergies and there have been no cases of skin eruption reported to the gabapentin post marketing surveillance. We report a patient who had severe Stevens-Johnson's Syndrome induced by phenytoin and later by carbamazepine. Subsequent use of gabapentin also resulted in a skin eruption which was li mited to the lower extremities but without systemic or mucosal involvement. This case suggests that patients with a strong history of drug-induced idi osyncratic reactions may experience such reactions to gabapentin as well.