Abstract: Objective To update the knowledge on the sensitizing drugs and clinical features of drug eruption. Methods The clinical data on 138 patients hospitalized for drug eruption in the Department of Dermatology, Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, from January 2005 to June 2007, were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Results Totally, 178 episodes of drug eruption were observed in these patients during the tested period. The major sensitizing drugs included antibacterial agents （31.46%）, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs （28.09%）, traditional Chinese medicines （15.73%）. Amoxicillin triggered 20 episodes of drug eruption and was the most common causative drug. Oral administration was the predominant sensitizing route of administration（54.17%）. Of all the drug eruptions, 33.71% manifested by erythema multiforme, 28.09％ by fixed drug eruption, 22.47% by exanthematous drug eruption. Severe types of drug eruption were mainly caused by traditional Chinese medicines and anti-gout drugs. Conclusions Antibacterial agents and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have become the major sensitizing drugs of drug eruption, especially amoxicillin. The frequency of traditional Chinese medicine-induced eruptions are increasing. Furthermore, caution is warranted for the drug eruption caused by oral administration.

Key words: drug eruption, antibiotics, analgesics- antipyretics