Background: Recent study demonstrated that HLA-B*1502 was a common risk allele in aromatic
antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) induced Stevens–Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis in Han
Chinese. However, the association of AEDs-induced mild maculopapular eruption (MPE) with HLAB*
1502 remains unclear until recently. In the present study, we conducted a pilot study to detect a
possible association of oxcarbazepine (OXC)-induced MPE with HLA-B*1502 allele in Chinese Han
population.
Methods: We enrolled 90 subjects involving 9 patients with OXC-induced MPE and two groups of
controls, 9 OXC-tolerant and 72 normal controls. High-resolution HLA genotyping was performed by
specific kit. The results of HLA genotyping are expressed as positive or negative for HLA-B*1502 allele.
Differences in genotype frequencies between groups were assessed by the Fisher’s exact test.
Results: Four cases were detected as positive for HLA-B*1502 amongst 9 patients. However, only 1
subject was positive amongst 9 tolerant controls, and 6 subjects were positive amongst 72 normal
controls. The difference in HLA-B*1502 allele frequencies between the MPE group and normal controls
was statistically significant (OR: 8.8; 95% CI: 1.853–41.790; P = 0.011). In addition, we also observed an
increased frequency of HLA-B*1502 allele in patients (44.44%) compared with tolerant controls (11.11%),
although it failed to reach statistical significance (P = 0.294).
Conclusions: Our findings indicate that HLA-B*1502 allele may contribute to the genetic susceptibility to
OXC-induced MPE in Chinese Han population. In order to safer AEDs use, we recommend that HLAB*
1502 allele should be tested for patients with OXC-induced MPE before changing to other AEDs, and
AEDs with similar chemical structure should be avoided in individuals who test positive for HLA-B*1502
allele. It should be pointed out that, however, our results may well be just by chance owing to the small
sample size and should be further confirmed in future studies.