Toxic epidermal necrolysis caused by flurazepam?

Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis are rare, but severe cutaneous reactions. Beside cutaneous manifestations, the syndrome is characterised by constitutional sypmtoms with even lethal consequences. Toxic epidermal necrolysis is usually a drug-hypersensitivity syndrome. More than a hundred drugs were suspected to cause toxic epidermal necrolysis. Although benzodiazepines had been suspected in some cases, flurazepam has not been implicated thus far. The authors report a severe, life threatening case of toxic epidermal necrolysis in a young woman suffering from schizophrenia. The most probable cause was flurazepam, a hypnotic agent of the benzodiazepine class.