'Baboon Syndrome' is technically a condition that is strongly suggestive of the body's abrasive reaction towards antibiotics or medications in general. More often than not this condition starts as a simple rash which eventually becomes very much visible in certain parts of the body especially on the armpits, groin, and buttocks.
According to Live Science, baboon syndrome or symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema (SDRIFE) is referred to as such because most of its patients' buttocks resemble the red hindquarters of certain monkeys due to the extensive rash. However, albeit the interesting manifestation of the condition is the possibly risky effects it brings to the human body.
Just recently, a 40-year-old man was diagnosed with this unusual condition. At first he was diagnosed with tonsilitis because of his sore throat and fever. His physician prescribed penicillin, a very common antibiotic, but the man later on developed unusual rashes on his armpits, groin, and buttocks. Then, in the journal BMJ Case Reports, researchers reported this man's case and recognized that such signs and symptoms were brought about by the negative side effects of the medication he took.
University Hospital of Basel in Switzerland dermatologist Dr. Andreas Bircher said the condition is usually caused by an allergic reaction to penicillin drugs. Although Bircher isn't part of the study, he has reported about baboon syndrome before.
Meanwhile, the man on the study, in his initial examination, was found to have rather enlarged and inflamed tonsils, doctors at the NHS Lothian hospital in the United Kingdom said. It was also noted that the man's doctor had prescribed penicillin for at least two days earlier, but his inflamed tonsils hindered him from swallowing the antibiotic.
Since the man was unable to swallow his medication from that time on, the emergency-department doctor opted for the intravenous route, and this time he administered benzylpenicillin, which is a different type of oral penicillin. The patient was made to receive the intravenous medicine for at least four times a day. In addition, he was also given a single dose of intravenous dexamethasone, a steroid to treat the inflammation.
The following day, the man reportedly developed a rash all over his groins and inner elbow. The doctor assumed that it was a reaction to the penicillin, so he changed the prescribed antibiotic into clarithromycin.
Although the patient's throat was much better after three days, his rash has gotten worse. It had spread all over his armpits, buttocks, lower abdomen, and upper thighs. He also complained about painful sensation on areas where the rashes became predominant. Furthermore, his groin has shown signs of necrosis.
Physicians were then caught in between a dilemma whether the patient was simply manifesting a severe drug reaction, which is self-limiting, or if he was unfortunately a victim of flesh-eating bacteria, in which case he would be required to have his dead tissue removed.
Fortunately, the patient tested negative for the flesh-eating bacteria, so doctors were pretty certain that it was baboon syndrome that has plagued the man's body.
"It's not a very common condition," Bircher said. Live Science revealed that the condition is more prevalent in males than in females especially those who have entered the postpubescent phase.
According to the report, antibiotic administration was stopped, so the patient was made to use oral and topical steroids to appease the rash. Eleven days later, he was released and the rash on his body was no more to be found.
"It's a true allergy," Bircher quipped adding that the rash will eventually fade through steroid treatment; however, re-exposure to the drug or allergen that has triggered the reaction will lead to a relapse within one to two days.
Baboon syndrome is said to manifest just hours or at most two days when a person has taken in an antibiotic. The condition is not only limited to penicillin, nickel and mercury can also lead to the rapid development of this condition.
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