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Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia 2015 August;150(4):467-71

Copyright © 2015 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Use of infliximab in toxic epidermal necrolysis: a still opened challenge

Ganzetti G. ¹, Campanati A. ¹, Simonetti O. ¹, Giuliodori K. ¹, Giangiacomi M. ², Lemme G. ², Offidani A. ¹ ✉

¹ Dermatological Clinic, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Polytechnic Marche University, Ancona, Italy; ² Anatomic Pathology Institute, Department of Neurosciences, Polytechnic University Of Marche, Ancona, Italy

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), also known as Lyell syndrome, is a potential life-threatening muco-cutaneous disease with important systemic implications. It affects the skin and mucous membranes, with involvement of more than 30% of body surface and it is mostly caused by drugs. Although the pathogenesis is not fully elucidated, it is probably linked to the inability to detoxicate reactive metabolites of drugs, to genetic susceptibility and to immune factors leading to cellular apoptosis. Currently, there are no randomized control trials and stardardized therapeutical approaches for the management of Lyell syndrome; therefore controversial clinical responses to the most common used drug in TEN make it difficult for the clinical-therapeutic approach. The authors reported their experience on three patients affected by Lyell syndrome treated with infliximab.