Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis: Epidemiology, clinical course, and treatment outcomes of patients treated in an Asian academic medical center

Background: Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) is a rare severe cutaneous adverse drug reaction. Although acutely patients have significant morbidity and occasional systemic involvement, the clinical course is generally self-limited. To date, there has been no consensus on treatment.

Objective: The aim of our current study was to evaluate the clinical features, drug association, treatment, and outcomes in a cohort of patients treated in an academic medical center.

Methods: A retrospective review of electronic medical records over a period of 10 years from 2009 to 2018 in a single tertiary academic medical center in Singapore was performed. Forty-three medical records with probable/definite diagnosis of AGEP were identified and analyzed for statistical significance.

Results: Drug association was identified in 93% of cases. The most frequent drug class was antibiotics, including penicillins, cephalosporins, and vancomycin. Systemic involvement was reported in 13.9% of patients. All cases of AGEP resolved with cessation of the offending drug. There was no mortality attributed to AGEP. Treatment with systemic steroid was associated with a decreased length of hospital stay (P = .035) in patients with AGEP.

Conclusion: AGEP was a self-limiting adverse drug reaction that was commonly caused by antibiotics. Although there was no difference in mortality, there was a significant reduction in the length of hospitalization with systemic corticosteroid treatment compared with that of topical corticosteroid treatment of AGEP.