ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome is a rare and potentially fatal adverse drug reaction associated with skin rash, fever, eosinophilia, and multiple organ injury. A number of pharmacological agents are known to cause DRESS syndrome such as allopurinol, anticonvulsants, vancomycin, trimethoprime-sulfamethoxazole, and pyrimethamine-sulfadiazine. Here, we describe two patients who developed DRESS syndrome during ocular treatment. The first case was being treated for late postoperative endophthalmitis with topical antibiotics, intravenous cephalothin, meropenem, and intravitreal injection of vancomycin and ceftazidime before symptoms developed. We were unable to identify the causal drug owing to the large number of medications concurrently administered. The second case presented with DRESS syndrome symptoms during ocular toxoplasmosis treatment. In this case, a clearer association with pyrimethamine-sulfadiazine was observed. As a result of the regular prescription of pharmacological agents associated with DRESS syndrome, ophthalmologists should be aware of the potentially serious complications of DRESS syndrome.
RESUMO Síndrome DRESS (drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms) é uma reação adversa a medicamentos rara e potencialmente fatal, associada à rash cutâneo, febre, eosinofilia e lesão de múltiplos órgãos. Algumas drogas podem desencadeá-la, como: alopurinol, anticonvulsivantes, vancomicina, sulfametoxazol-trimetoprim, sulfadiazina-pirimetamina, entre outras. Descrevemos dois casos que desenvolverem DRESS síndrome durante tratamento ocular. O primeiro caso apresentou os sintomas durante tratamento para endoftalmite pós-operatória tardia com antibióticos tópicos, cefalotina e meropenem intravenosos e injeção intravítrea de vancomicina e ceftazidima; não podemos identificar a droga causadora, pois múltiplas medicações foram utilizadas. O segundo caso desenvolveu os sintomas durante tratamento clássico para toxoplasmose ocular, então a associação com sulfadiazina-pirimetamina foi mais clara. Como muitos oftalmologistas prescrevem regularmente drogas que podem desencadear a síndrome DRESS, esse diagnóstico deve ser lembrado já que pode levar a sérias complicações.