Treatment of toxic epidermal necrolysis with intravenous immunoglobulin in children.

BACKGROUND

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is an acute illness characterized by rapid onset of skin necrosis and high mortality. Standard treatment is primarily aimed at supportive care in a burn unit setting.

OBJECTIVE

We evaluated the outcome of 8 pediatric patients treated for TEN with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) over a 3-year period.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of pediatric patients with a diagnosis of TEN between 1999 and 2001, obtained from a computerized database.

RESULTS

Mean body surface involvement of 8 patients treated with IVIg was 67%. The average length of hospitalization was 13.6 days, with an average delay in treatment of 3.2 days. The average time to arrest in progression of lesions was 2.1 days and to complete re-epithelialization, 8.1 days. The mortality rate was 0%. The majority of complications were infectious.

CONCLUSION

IVIg is a safe and effective treatment for TEN in the pediatric population. Randomized trials are needed to further evaluate the efficacy of IVIg compared with other modalities.