What is D.R.E.S.S.?
Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (D.R.E.S.S.) is a type of drug allergy which can occur as a reaction to a large variety of medications. Symptoms include fever, rash, facial swelling, enlarged lymph nodes and kidney or liver injury. Many drugs could cause D.R.E.S.S., but the most common drugs involved are specific types of antibiotics (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin and minocycline), allopurinol, and seizure medications, and patients would begin to show symptoms a few weeks after trying a new medication, often in the form of rash in the upper body and face with a fever.
D.R.E.S.S. is considered a type of severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs), a group of adverse drug reactions, and manifests in different forms on a spectrum of reactions ranging from skin rash, pseudo-allergic reactions, hypersensitivity reactions of the adaptive immune system and the innate immune system. Contact your doctor, allergist, or immunologist if you have symptoms closely related to D.R.E.S.S..
Diagnosis and Treatment:
Diagnostics tests are run to detect D.R.E.S.S.. Once detected, the patient has to stop the offending medication and may have to receive additional treatment to prevent deterioration in some cases.
Read a news article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/07/27/fatal-drug-reaction-acne-dress/
Learn more:
https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-treatments/related-conditions/dress
National D.R.E.S.S. Syndrome Foundation: https://www.dresssyndromefoundation.org/signs-and-symptoms
