Phenytoin is a highly effective and widely prescribed anticonvulsant agent. Phenytoin is however, associated with both dose related side effects and hypersensitivity reactions.
Phenytoin is associated with both dose-related side effects and hypersensitivity reactions.
A small percentage of patients will experience a distinctive reaction referred to as the phenytoin hypersensitivity syndrome. This syndrome can have a variable spectrum of clinical and laboratory findings. We report a patient with the phenytoin hypersensitivity syndrome who developed multi-system organ failure. The patient, a 64 year-old black male, was started on phenytoin six weeks prior to admission, following an alcohol withdrawal seizure. He was taking no other medication.