§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 26 June,Official Report, columns 148–49, what drugs, other than paracetamol and codeine, were involved in the adverse reactions of erythema multiform and epidermal necrolysis; and how many cases were involved for each drug identified by its generic and trade name. [35492]
§ Mr. Malone[holding answer on 4 July 1996]: A table has been placed in the Library which lists all drugs reported in association with erythema multiform and epidermal necrolysis between 1991 and 1995 and the number of reports for each drug.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 26 June,Official Report, columns 148–49, how many of the adverse reactions were fatal or caused serious damage to the patient's health. [35493]
§ Mr. Malone[holding answer 4 July 1996]: The Medicines Control Agency holds the following information relating to suspected adverse drug reactions reported through the voluntary yellow card scheme. These data have been mapped to two relevant preferred terms: erythema multiforme—which includes Stevens-Johnson syndrome—and epidermal necrolysis.
There have been five fatal reports of erythema multiforme and 29 fatal reports of epidermal necrolysis where the fatality was associated directly or indirectly with the adverse reaction. None of the fatal cases were reported to be associated with products containing paracetamol and/or codeine.
Epidermal necrolysis is a serious condition, as indicated by the high proportion of fatalities. However, many cases of erythema multiforme are mild and self-limiting. Of the 715 reported cases of erythema multiforme, 80 were known to have been hospitalised.