Andrew Bagg, MD

A 37-year-old man presented to the emergency department with painful, burning, blistering skin lesions. The lesions started 3 days earlier on the face and spread to the trunk and extremities. Ten days before presentation, the patient had received a diagnosis of AIDS.

A 43-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with a 4-day history of worsening erythema, swelling, and pruritus that developed on the face and progressed to the abdomen, back, and lower legs. In the past 2 to 3 days, fluid-filled blisters had arisen, followed by skin sloughing; the patient also reported subjective fevers. Another physician had prescribed naproxen for back pain 6 days earlier. The patient had a history of asthma, with rare inhaler use, and depression, for which she had taken citalopram for 2 years.