Ivermectin-induced drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome

Severe cutaneous adverse reactions associated with systemic ivermectin: A pharmacovigilance analysis

Despite poor evidence, the antiparasitic ivermectin has been advocated as a potential COVID-19 therapy. This has led to a rise in calls to poison-control centers by people self-medicating with ivermectin, which is sold over the counter for veterinary uses. We aimed to investigate the association between severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) and ivermectin. Postmarketing data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), gathered between 2014 and 2021, was employed to detect disproportional signals of SCARs following systemic ivermectin therapy. The reporting odds ratio (ROR) was used to quantify the strength of association, while adjusting for age, sex, and region. The search yielded 517 reports of systemic ivermectin (median age 54 years, 46.8% female), of which 25 (4.8%), 81 (15.7%), and 411 (79.5%) were classified as SCARs, nonsevere cutaneous adverse events (AEs), or noncutaneous AEs, respectively. The regional distribution differed between SCAR reports (32.0% from Africa and 12.0% from North America) compared with other AEs, which originated from North America in over half of cases. The most common SCARs were toxic epidermal necrolysis (seven cases), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (seven cases), and drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (four cases). Five SCAR cases (20.0%) resulted in death and 12 (48.0%) lead to hospitalization. There was a strong safety signal for any SCAR (adjusted ROR 3.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.17-5.12) and toxidermias (adjusted ROR 7.08, 95% CI 4.23-11.84). This study suggests that ivermectin is associated with SCARs on rare occasions. Dermatologists should be aware of this given the increase in ivermectin misuse.

Critical Review of Gaps in the Diagnosis and Management of Drug-Induced Liver Injury Associated with Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) encompasses the unexpected damage that drugs can cause to the liver. DILI may develop in the context of an immunoallergic syndrome with cutaneous manifestations, which are sometimes severe (SCARs). Nevirapine, allopurinol, anti-epileptics, sulfonamides, and antibiotics are the most frequent culprit drugs for DILI associated with SCARs. Interestingly, alleles HLA-B*58:01 and HLA-A*31:01 are associated with both adverse reactions. However, there is no consensus about the criteria used for the characterization of liver injury in this context, and the different thresholds for DILI definition make it difficult to gain insight into this complex disorder. Moreover, current limitations when evaluating causality in patients with DILI associated with SCARs are related to the plethora of causality assessment methods and the lack of consensual complementary tools. Finally, the management of this condition encompasses the treatment of liver and skin injury. Although the use of immunomodulant agents is accepted for SCARs, their role in treating liver injury remains controversial. Further randomized clinical trials are needed to test their efficacy and safety to address this complex entity. Therefore, this review aims to identify the current gaps in the definition, diagnosis, prognosis, and management of DILI associated with SCARs, proposing different strategies to fill in these gaps.

Pharmacists’ role in infectious pandemics: illustration with COVID-19

In 2020 pharmacists around the globe were faced with overwhelming challenges due to the global coronavirus pandemic. This chapter describes salient issues impacting pharmacists’ response to the COVID-19 infectious disease pandemic. The chapter emphasizes the response in the United States and within regions to inform the readers of principles related to the scope of practice and practice in the community, point-of-care testing, critical care and health systems, and long-term care. Pharmacy educators responded to graduate essential healthcare workers on time. The chapter ends following the lead of World Health Organization Director-General advising “first, prepare and be ready; second, detect, protect, and treat; third, reduce transmission; and fourth, innovate and learn.”

Diagnosis and management of the drug hypersensitivity reactions in Coronavirus disease 19: An EAACI Position Paper

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory tract infection caused by a novel human coronavirus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, leads to a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic cases to patients with mild and severe symptoms, with or without pneumonia. Given the huge influence caused by the overwhelming COVID-19 pandemic affecting over three million people worldwide, a wide spectrum of drugs is considered for the treatment in the concept of repurposing and off-label use. There is no knowledge about the diagnosis and clinical management of the drug hypersensitivity reactions that can potentially occur during the disease. This review brings together all the published information about the diagnosis and management of drug hypersensitivity reactions due to current and candidate off-label drugs and highlights relevant recommendations. Furthermore, it gathers all the dermatologic manifestations reported during the disease for guiding the clinicians to establish a better differential diagnosis of drug hypersensitivity reactions in the course of the disease.