Pharmacovigilance of the cutaneous drug reactions in outpatients of dermatology department at a tertiary care hospital

Objective: To study the various clinical patterns, causality, severity, and preventability of cutaneous drug reactions among the out patients of the Dermatology Department in a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: One hundred eighty one patients with suspected drug allergy were screened and 59 patients with Cutaneous Drug Reactions (CDRs) were recruited for this observational study which was conducted among the outpatients in the Department of Dermatology from June to December 2011. The history of drug intake, the morphology of the cutaneous reactions and their causality, severity and preventability were analyzed.

Results: The mean age of the patients with the cutaneous drug reactions was 30.5 years. Most of them were in the age group of 26-37 years, with 52.5% females and 47.5% males. The most common reactions observed were urticaria (32.2%), fixed drug eruptions (25.4%), acneform eruptions (13.6%), morbilliform eruptions (6.8%), maculopapular rashes (5.1%), and angio-oedema (3.4%) . The most common drugs which caused the reactions were Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) (39.1%), Quinolones (22.1%), Amoxicillin (8.5%) and Corticosteroids (8.5%). Most of the reactions were mild to moderate in severity and all of them were preventable.

Conclusion: The patterns of the cutaneous adverse drug reactions and the drugs which caused them varied in our study population according to the pattern of the drug intake, the associated illness and the susceptibility of the patients. A sound knowledge of the adverse drugs reactions, a careful history taking and a cautious approach during the prescription of new drugs can prevent most of these adverse drug reactions.