IDIOSYNCRATIC FEBRILE REACTIONS TO THIOURACIL: CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND POSSIBLE PHARMACOLOGIC SIGNIFICANCE

Abstract

Case reports of 3 patients with thyrotoxicosis who developed fever attributable to thiouracil therapy are presented. The sudden onset of fever after a relatively constant latent period, the explosive immediate reaction upon readmn. of the drug, and the character of the accompanying symptoms suggest that this toxic reaction is a manifestation of true drug idiosyncrasy. Circumstantial evidence of immunologic, chemical and pharmacologic nature is adduced to support the thesis that capacity to bind proteins is the common chemical factor which is responsible for the therapeutic action of the so-called idiosyncratic drugs as well as the anaphylactic-like complications sometimes attending their use.