Association between human herpesvirus reactivations and the severity of maculopapular exanthema and drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms: a retrospective comparative study

The role of human herpes virus (HHV) in the pathogenesis of cutaneous adverse drug reaction (CADR) is of increasing interest but remains controversial. Our study aims to identify whether there is an association between HHV reactivation and the severity of maculopapular exanthema and drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms. Forty-five patients were selected retrospectively through data collection from the University Hospital of Nancy between 1 January 2015 and 1 January 2020. We did not find an association between HHV reactivation and these two CADRs, which means that it may play a role in pathogenesis but its implication in the severity and therapeutic approach remains unclear.