Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms syndrome: sex and the causative agent.

The study was conducted to determine whether there is a sex difference in the causative agent of drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. A retrospective review of hospital records from 1999 to 2006 in the dermatology department of a large municipal medical center found 8 patients who met the criteria for DRESS syndrome: drug-induced generalized eruption, associated systemic involvement (lymph node or visceral), and presence of eosinophilia (eosinophil count > or =1500/microL and/or circulating atypical lymphocytes). There were 4 men and 4 women, aged 19 to 53 years, with a mean age of 38 years. A sex difference was found in 3 parameters: (1) age, younger age in women; (2) time interval between drug intake and rash, shorter in women; and (3) the culprit drug: carbamazepine in 2 men and 2 women, salazopyrin in 2 women, and phenytoin in 2 men. While the sample is small, there is an indication of sex differences in the DRESS syndrome.