The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety Thursday recommended patients they check for HLA-B 5801 gene before taking Allopurinol, a treatment for hyperuricemia and gout, as it may cause severe skin adverse effect.

Severe skin adverse event is a potentially harmful and unexpected adverse reaction that can occur even when taking approved drug doses. Although incidences are rare, it can be fatal by causing illnesses such as skin exfoliation or internal organ damage.

The recommendation is based on a ministry report outlining a trial it to confirm HLA-B 5801 gene's effect on patients who have taken Allopurinol since last year.

The ministry _{식품의약안전처} performed a genetic test in 542 patients and divided them into two groups -- those with HLA-B 5801 gene and those without the gene.

Afterwards, 503 patients without the gene received Allopurinol, while 39 patients with the gene received an alternative drug. No severe skin adverse events occurred in both groups.

However, 38 of the 4,200 patients, who had been taking Allopurinol for more than three months without performing a genetic test from 2010 to 2017, developed severe skin adverse events, according to the ministry report.

The report also outlined that the current incidence of severe skin adverse reactions due to allopurinol was 0.4 percent of the total patients treated with Allopurinol.

The share of Koreans with HLA-B 5801 gene is 12.2 percent of total population.

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