Abstract
Epidermal necrosis, usually full-thickness, involves a variable proportion of the skin surface and is usually associated with an underlying stimulus. Necrosis can be restricted to the center of a classic target lesion or a rapid assault of the entire skin, and mucosal surface can occur, resulting in death. The main source of confusion is that although there are differences between entities caused predominantly by infections (erythema multiforme [EM] spectrum) and those caused predominantly by drugs (Stevens-Johnson syndrome [SJS] and toxic epidermal necrolysis [TEN]), there can be considerable overlap. Added to this clinical overlap is histologic overlap, although the degree of inflammation and epidermal necrosis are cited as potential differentiating factors.
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Crowe, D.R. (2016). Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. In: Crowe, D., Morgan, M., Somach, S., Trapp, K. (eds) Deadly Dermatologic Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31566-9_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31566-9_26
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