Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is a rare yet severe skin disease that attacks the skin and the mucous membranes of the eyes, mouth, and genitals. More often than not, SJS is the result of an allergic reaction to medications. In fact, 95% of all SJS cases involve prescription drugs.

While SJS is a dangerous skin disease, very few people know what it is. From regular people to healthcare experts, only a small group of people have experience with this disease. After all, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome only affects a handful of individuals every year, so understandably, very few doctors have had the opportunity to diagnose or treat the condition. Unfortunately, this leads to a host of problems.

Not only do most doctors have little to no experience with this disease, but SJS shares many early symptoms with other conditions, such as the flu. Far too often, this leads to SJS misdiagnoses. When a doctor misdiagnoses this disease, it will only worsen and potentially develop into the more dangerous Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN). TEN is far more life-threatening than SJS.

If your condition worsened after an SJS misdiagnosis, you might be within your right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the diagnosing doctor. Give one of the trusted and knowledgeable Stevens-Johnson Syndrome attorneys at Wormington & Bollinger a call today to learn what your options are.

Doctors Misdiagnosing SJS 

As we mentioned earlier, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is a rare skin disease, affecting only a handful of individuals every single year. In most cases, doctors will have no experience diagnosing or treating SJS. Very few of them have knowledge of the disease, which only increases their chances of SJS misdiagnoses.

In the U.S., SJS only affects one to two per million people every year. As you can imagine, this low number means that very few doctors ever interact with this disease. Even if a doctor knows about SJS and how it affects the body, the initial stages of development can throw them off, causing SJS misdiagnoses.

When you first develop SJS or TEN, it often begins with flu-like symptoms. Patients often experience:

• Fever
• Body aches
• Fatigue
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Chills

However, shortly after the onset of these symptoms, the skin begins to blister and peel off, leaving painful raw and unexposed areas, which resembles severe burns. Often, once the skin starts to peel, doctors are able to diagnose the condition easier. However, that is not always the case.

Because Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is so rare, doctors might miss the disease altogether. Due to their lack of knowledge, they might not have the wherewithal to diagnose the condition accurately. When this occurs, the disease can progress and worsen into the far deadlier Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN).

Only 10% of patients with SJS die, while nearly 50% of the patients who develop TEN lose their lives. SJS can develop into TEN quickly. So, an accurate diagnosis is all it takes to protect a patient.

Common SJS Misdiagnoses 

Unfortunately, the rarity of SJS and doctors’ unfamiliarity with the disease often means that these healthcare professionals mistake SJS for another condition entirely. According to the Canadian nonprofit Milne Stevens-Johnson Syndrome Society, doctors initially diagnose around 90% of SJS skin reactions as chickenpox or some other hand, foot, and mouth disease.

SJS/TEN give similar symptoms with a host of different conditions, many that are much less dangerous than this skin disease. Some of these conditions include:

• Bullous pemphigoid
• Bullous impetigo
• Dermatitis herpetiformis
• Cicatricial pemphigoid
• Paraneoplastic pemphigus
• Linear IgA dermatosis
• Pemphigus foliaceus
• Porphyria cutanea tarda
• Epidermolysis bullosa
• Staphylococcal scalded skin

These are only a handful of conditions that have similar symptoms as SJS. Unfortunately, doctors often mistake SJS for one of these diseases. Misdiagnoses are detrimental to a patient’s health. When a patient receives an accurate diagnosis, they can receive the appropriate care and treatment they need.

When a doctor misdiagnoses a patient, that patient receives the wrong treatment. While some of these treatments may provide minor relief, they don’t treat the problem correctly. More often than not, a misdiagnosis often leads to a patient’s condition worsening. In cases like SJS, that could lead to a patient’s untimely death.

SJS is a disease that can develop quickly. As it progresses, it affects more areas of the skin. The longer you go without appropriate treatment, the more likely you are to suffer long-term complications.

Contact Wormington & Bollinger 

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) (along with Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN)) is an extremely rare yet severe skin disease that attacks large areas of the skin and the mucous membranes of the eyes, mouth, and genitals. If left untreated, it can worsen, increasing your risk of death.

Because SJS is rare, and very few doctors have experience with this disease, they often misdiagnose SJS for a condition with similar symptoms. They end up giving you treatment for another disease entirely. In cases like this, patients are left with long-term complications that impact them for the rest of their lives.

If you or someone you love suffered an allergic reaction to a prescription drug that developed into SJS and your doctor misdiagnosed your condition, you may be able to recover damages. The team at Wormington & Bollinger specializes in these cases, and we have helped those who have experienced SJS misdiagnoses. Give us a call today to learn what your options are.