Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:425-430
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
Adverse cutaneous reactions to antidepressants
JK Warnock and JW Knesevich
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis.
The authors review the literature on adverse cutaneous reactions to
antidepressant medications. The prevalence of rashes ranges from
approximately 2% to 4% but is higher for certain antidepressants such as
maprotiline and carbamazepine. Antidepressant drug reactions result in a
variety of cutaneous morphologic patterns, but the majority of eruptions
are exanthematous. The patterns of these reactions are similar whether the
pathogenesis is mediated by immunologic or nonimmunologic mechanisms. The
management of patients with adverse cutaneous reactions to antidepressants
is discussed, and various recommendations are given.
