Unexpected Spreading of Severe Allergic Reaction to Mupirocin Ointment around a Chemical Burn Wound: A Rare Case Report

Mupirocin ointment is a topical antibiotic approved and used for the treatment of cutaneous infections. Despite some side effects, mupirocin has been reported to be safe and to cause allergic reactions in only extremely rare cases. A 41-year-old male patient visited our hospital after suffering a chemical burn on his left elbow. Mupirocin ointment and a foam dressing were applied daily. After the mupirocin treatment, an exfoliative skin lesion and bullae appeared and quickly spread to the entire left upper extremity. Our clinical diagnosis of this rare case was severe allergic contact dermatitis caused by the mupirocin ointment. Application of mupirocin was terminated, and the spread of aggravated erosive cutaneous lesion was treated with normal saline and wet-gauze dressing, after which most of the erosive lesion started to heal. After 2 more weeks, there was full epithelization and the wound healed completely. This paper is a report on a rare case of severe allergic contact dermatitis resulting from treatment with mupirocin ointment.