Salazosulfapyridine induced hypersensitivity syndrome associated with reactivation of humanherpes virus 6

A 22-year-old woman with ulcerative colitis developed skin eruptions, liver dysfunction, and atypical lymphocytes in the peripheral blood two weeks after she started taking salazosulfapyridine (SASP). Skin eruptions and liver damage were severe. Drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test (DLST) for SASP was positive. She was diagnosed as having SASP-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (HS). Corticosteroid therapy was needed to suppress these reactions. The transient elevation of HHV-6 IgG titer paralleled the symptoms, which indicated that these reactions were associated with the reactivation of HHV-6. We suggest that HHV-6 IgG titer is one of the modalities for the diagnosis and the prediction of the clinical course of HS.