[Toxic epidermal necrolysis, a life-threatening skin disease]

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN; Lyell's disease) was diagnosed in three patients: an 8-year-old boy and two women aged 39 and 25. Treatment consisted of daily sterile wound care using a synthetic wound covering, oral as well as tube feeding and administration of fluid, electrolytes and albumin. Sepsis developed in 2 patients, and was treated with specific antibiotics. Irreversible sight loss developed in 1 patient. A burns centre offers optimal conditions for treatment because of the combined availability of both nursing and medical expertise and of the required infrastructure needed for antisepsis, climate control and intensive care.