Minoxidil-Induced Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

This paper reports a case of a patient who developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a severe skin reaction, while taking minoxidil for hypertension. The patient's symptoms disappeared when the drug was discontinued, but reappeared when the drug was restarted. The paper suggests that minoxidil sensitivity should be considered as a possible cause of serious skin reactions in hypertensive patients taking the drug. The paper also notes that while cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions to minoxidil have been rare and of minor consequence, serious dermatologic hypersensitivity phenomena, such as the Stevens-Johnson syndrome, have not been reported.