Medical student University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background: Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DReSS) is a severe adverse drug reaction, often arising 2-8 weeks after starting the offending medication. Anticonvulsants and antibiotics are the most common culprits, and typical symptoms include fever, rash, and internal organ involvement. DReSS is rare in children, resulting in a lack of data to support the development of clinical practice guidelines. In our center, cyclosporine has become the first-line treatment of DReSS, instead of corticosteroids. Objective: To describe demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, and short and long-term outcomes of pediatric DReSS patients who received cyclosporine treatment compared to those who did not. Design/Methods: This single-center, retrospective chart review focuses on pediatric patients admitted to The Hospital for Sick Children from 2018-2023 with a clinical diagnosis of DReSS. We will use descriptive statistics to report the demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, diagnostic process, clinical management, and outcomes of DReSS. A comparative analysis will be performed to assess the clinical presentation of pediatric DReSS, its clinical management, and the short- and long-term outcomes between patients who received cyclosporine treatment and those who did not. We anticipate completing this analysis by December 2023. Thus far, 24 patients were included in this study. Mean admission age for DReSS patients was 9.3 years and females accounted for 66% of the cohort. The median length of stay was 8 days (IQR 4-30), with cyclosporine-treated patients being admitted for 6 days (IQR 6-10) compared to 8.5 days (IQR 4-30) for patients receiving other treatments.
