Contemporary trends of drugs causing fixed drug eruptions

Background: The extensive outgrowth of newer drug molecules not only improves the disease condition but also frequently changes the pattern of Adverse Cutaneous Drug Reaction (ACDR). The need for this study is to identify the current drugs responsible for fixed drug eruption (FDE) and to ensure safety of the patients. Materials and Methods: The subjects with the diagnosis of FDE were included in the study for a period 12 months. The entire details such as patient’s clinical history, drug reaction and detail drug history were noted down. Then the assessment of individual cases was done for causality, severity and preventability using validated scales. Results: Out of the 38 ACDR cases the total number of fixed drug eruption cases were 18. Male: female ratio was 1.25:1. The mean time between the drug intake and the appearance of eruption was on average of 7.25. The most common suspected drug was paracetamol and fluoroquinolones. Causality assessment showed that 17 cases were of probable category and one was of possible category. Severity assessment showed that 16 were of moderately severe category and two of mildly severe. Preventability assessment analysis has shown that 5 cases as definitely preventable category while the remaining were not preventable.