Paediatric case series of drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS): 12-year experience at a single referral centre in Hong Kong and the first reported use of infliximab

SUMMARY

DRESS (drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms) is a rare but potentially life-threatening disorder characterized by fever, skin eruption, haematological abnormalities and multi-organ dysfunction after drug exposure. The pathophysiology is thought to be related to interactions between culprit drugs, viral reactivation and T-lymphocytes activation. We report 4 paediatric patients with DRESS who were treated at our centre over the past 12 years. Most cases improved after corticosteroids. Other immunosuppressive medications were attempted in refractory cases with varied outcomes. Patient 3 was the first reported case that involved the use of infliximab, a TNF-alfa inhibitor, for DRESS. Although clinical efficacy was not observed for this one patient, a previous study demonstrated that patients with DRESS, disease progression and HHV-6 reactivation had elevated pre-treatment TNF-alfa and IL-6 levels. Further research is needed to explore the role of these cytokines in DRESS.

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