Stevens-Johnson syndrome caused by the antiretroviral drug nevirapine

Nevirapine is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor widely used in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV infection. Severe rash, including the Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), is the major toxicity of nevirapine and is described in the package labeling with a prominent, boxed warning. Though physicians treating large populations of patients with HIV are well aware of this complication, only one other report of nevirapine-associated SJS has been documented in the dermatology literature. We describe 2 cases of SJS related to nevirapine use and review the literature on this newly recognized association. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2001;44:354-7.)