Dermatitis allopurinol therapy

The major side effects of allopurinol are skin rash, urticaria, leukopenia, GI problems, headache, and increased frequency of acute gouty attacks with the initiation of therapy. An allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome characterized by fever, eosinophilia, dermatitis, vasculitis, and renal and hepatic dysfunction occurs rarely but is associated with a 20% mortality rate. 

Allopurinol is the antihyperuricemic drug of choice in patients with a history of urinary stones or impaired renal function, in patients who have lymphoproliferative or myeloproliferative disorders and need pretreatment with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor before initiation of cytotoxic therapy to protect against acute uric acid nephropathy, and in patients with gout who are overproducers of uric acid. The major side effects of allopurinol are skin rash, leukopenia, occasional gastrointestinal toxicity, and increased frequency of acute gouty attacks with the initiation of therapy. An allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome characterized by fever, eosinophilia, dermatitis, vasculitis, and renal and hepatic dysfunction is a rare side effect, but is associated with a 20% mortality rate. ... 

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