reactivation of cytomegalovirus in a patient with stevens-johnson syndrome-toxic epidermal necrolysis

stevens-johnson syndrome (sjs) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (ten) are severe adverse cutaneous reactions to drugs. we describe the case of a 19 year old patient with sjs/ten overlap syndrome, who developed severe interstitial pneumonia after she had received antiepileptic drugs. a cytomegalovirus infection was diagnosed by real time polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) detection on bronchoalveolar lavage. based on observations on biological data, temporal relationship, and clinical features, it could be inferred that the reactivation of cytomegalovirus with viral replication can predispose a person to ten-sjs. we discuss here, in the light of the current literature, the probable association between drug-induced sjs-ten and fulminant reactivation of cytomegalovirus.