Drug-induced phototoxicity: A systematic review

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2018

Publication Title

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Phototoxicity has been attributed to numerous oral drugs over the past 60 years.

OBJECTIVE: Determine the quality of evidence supporting suspected phototoxicity from oral drugs.

METHODS: The MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched for all studies that contain original data for drug-induced phototoxicity and were published between May 1959 and December 2016. Study quality was assessed by using a modified Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation scale.

RESULTS: The review included 240 eligible studies with a total of 2466 subjects. There were 1134 cases of suspected phototoxicity associated with 129 drugs. Most associations were supported by either very low-quality or low-quality evidence (89.1% of the studies). Medications supported by stronger evidence were vemurafenib, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and antibiotics, specifically, fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines. The most frequently reported drugs were vemurafenib, voriconazole, doxycycline, hydrochlorothiazide, amiodarone, and chlorpromazine. Photobiologic evaluation was performed in only 56 studies (23.3%), whereas challenge-rechallenge was done in 10% of cases.

LIMITATIONS: Only English-language publications were reviewed. Cases of phototoxicity that had been incorrectly categorized as photoallergy would not have been included.

CONCLUSIONS: Most purported associations between oral drugs and phototoxicity are not supported by high-quality evidence. Despite the variable quality of data, clinicians should be aware of the possible consequences of long-term use of culprit drugs.

Medical Subject Headings

Anti-Bacterial Agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Dermatitis, Phototoxic; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Vemurafenib

PubMed ID

30003982

Volume

79

Issue

6

First Page

1069

Last Page

1075

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