Having a significant chance for misdiagnosis, toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) not only has a high mortality rate (30-60%) but also harbors significant medicolegal value. This article provides detailed information about epidemiology, clinical features pathophysiology, etiology, diagnosis, management, and prognosis of this life-threatening dermatological disorder. From ‘Anuradha Saha medical negligence case’, to several others, TEN has been repeatedly involved in misdiagnosis and legal circumstances. In 1956, Dr.
Alan Lyell provided the earliest description of the disease as “an eruption resembling scalding of the skin”. Globally, 0.4-1.3 TEN cases per 100,000 cases are reported every year. The incidence rate is much more in HIV patients (1 per 1000). CLINICAL FEATURES TEN is manifested with widespread (over 30% of the body surface) necrosis and erythema as well as a bullous detachment…
