Dr. Jan Dutz speaks with JCMS Editor-in-chief Dr Kirk Barber about the article Dutz co-authored in the Nov/Dec 2019 edition of the Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery. The article focuses on how East Asians exposed to the urate-lowering drug allopurinol have a predilection for severe cutaneous drug reactions such as drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome or drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms and Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis. Dr Barber and Dr Dutz discuss why screening of patients of East Asian descent for the presence of HLA-B*58:01 prior to allopurinol initiation has been a Canadian missed opportunity. And what more can be done to encourage wider use of this inexpensive screening test.

Dr. Jan Dutz is Professor and Head of the Department of Dermatology and Skin Science at UBC. He is also a Senior Scientist with the British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

Theme music by Lee Rosevere

Produced by David McGuffin - Explore Podcast Productions