Major psychological complications and decreased health-related quality of life among survivors of Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis

Health‐related quality of life and long‐term sequelae in survivors of epidermal necrolysis: an observational study of 57 patients

“…Strikingly, the reported rate of post‐traumatic stress syndrome across studies seemed to increase with elapsed time following hospital discharge. Indeed, in one prospective study performed in our department involving 31 patients, assessed using another scale, the prevalence of post‐traumatic stress syndrome was 23% at 6 months after hospital discharge, whereas in another study, it was 29% at 9 months and was 49% for a median follow‐up of 3·3 years in our study. If confirmed by further prospective longitudinal studies, this increasing prevalence of post‐traumatic stress syndrome over time highlights that survivors of EN need to be closely followed up for many years and that assessment by a psychiatrist should be considered for those presenting symptoms of psychological distress.…”

“…Psychological/psychiatric complications were explored using validated scales, which confirmed that a large proportion of survivors of EN experienced symptoms of psychological distress, including anxiety (approximately 50%), depression (approximately 20%), and post‐traumatic stress syndrome (approximately 50%), similar in range to that reported in previous studies addressing these aspects in smaller cohorts . Strikingly, the reported rate of post‐traumatic stress syndrome across studies seemed to increase with elapsed time following hospital discharge.…”

“…Of note, although all patients were living at home at the time of the phone interview and had very good functioning level/independence scores, almost half declared changes in their employment status following hospital discharge, and the median self‐assessed global QoL score was 65/100, which illustrates the burden of the sequelae on daily life. Indeed, a recent study of 17 survivors of SJS/TEN conducted at a mean follow‐up of 51·6 months after the acute phase showed that only 29% were employed after the acute phase …”

Incidence, outcomes, and resource use in children with Stevens‐Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis

“…Thus, the terms SJS, SJS/TEN overlap syndrome, and TEN, although each having a separate diagnosis code, are used to represent the quantity of skin involvement of this severe cutaneous adverse reaction. All three diagnoses are associated with significant medical and psychological morbidity in children and adults …”

Psychological sequelae of toxic epidermal necrolysis: further insights

“…From this perspective, the conclusions of the valuable paper published in the BJD this month by Dodiuk‐Gad et al . are perhaps unsurprising: that is, survivors of SJS/TEN carry with them a burden of psychological morbidity in the aftermath of what is a devastating life event …”