DRESS syndrome: an unlikely diagnosis with an unlikely cause

Sofia Garcês Soares; M H Mendes; P Pinto-Lopes

doi:10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000154

DRESS syndrome: an unlikely diagnosis with an unlikely cause

Porto Biomed J. 2022 Oct 24;7(5):e154. doi: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000154. eCollection 2022 Sep-Oct.

Authors

Sofia Garcês Soares¹, M H Mendes¹, P Pinto-Lopes^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Centro Hospitalar Tâmega e Sousa - Hospital Padre Américo, Penafiel.
² Department of Biomedicine, Unit of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.

Abstract

Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms syndrome is a rare and severe adverse drug reaction which is potentially life-threatening. We report a case of a 66-year-old male, with no prior history of allergies, who went to the emergency department with fever, headache and a rash, 12 days following receiving metronidazole for 7 days. He had no recent trips, contact with sick people or animals. The authors aim to alert to an uncommon and serious syndrome caused by an unlikely drug.

Keywords: DRESS syndrome; drug; rash.