Abstract
Evalation of: Tohyama M, Hashimoto K, Yasukawa M et al. Association of Human herpesvirus 6 reactivation with the flaring and severity of drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome. Br. J. Dermatol. 157, 934–940 (2007).
Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) is a severe drug-induced reaction with recognized, but not fully understood, clinical and biological presentations known to be associated with a limited number of drugs. However, it remains without clearly determined treatment guidelines. Its severity is directly related to systemic manifestations. Recent data demonstrate that Human herpesvirus (HHV)6 reactivation occurs within the course of this syndrome, especially in the severe cases. The investigators demonstrated in a large series of 100 patients with DRESS an association of HHV6 reactivation with the flaring and severity of DRESS. They propose to establish a distinct entity, which they name ‘DIHS’ (drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome) reserved to describe a drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome, that includes amongst its diagnostic criteria the demonstration of HHV6. The article by Tohyama et al. should be considered as a key paper because it underlines the importance of HHV6 infection in this syndrome as both a diagnostic and prognostic criterion.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
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Notes
*Diagnosis is confirmed by the presence of 5 of the 6 criteria.
ALT: Alanine aminotransferase.