HLA-B*1502 genotyping in two Chinese patients with phenytoin-induced Stevens–Johnson syndrome

Abstract Previous studies have reported that patients with phenytoin-induced Stevens–Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (PHT-induced SJS/TEN) were positive for HLA-B*1502. We genotyped two patients with PHT-induced SJS using both polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers and sequencing. The results revealed that one patient from Henan Province had HLA-B*1501/B*5401, and the other patient from Guangdong Province had HLA-B*1502/B*4601. When this information was combined with the results from Taiwan and Hong Kong, a significant difference was observed in the presence of HLA-B*1502 between PHT-SJS and PHT-tolerant populations (35% vs 8%, P  = 0.001, OR = 6.08, 95% CI = 2.183–16.946). Additional studies in large samples are required to confirm the association between HLA-B*1502 and PHT-induced SJS/TEN.