A cross-sectional study of clinical, histopathological and direct immmunofluorescence diagnosis in autoimmune bullous diseases

Abstract

Background: Immunobullous diseases are morphologically heterogeneous and the differentiation between various subtypes is essential for proper treatment and prognosis. Aim of our study was to analyze and correlate clinical, histopathological and immunofluorescence findings in autoimmune bullous diseases. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done over a period of two years (2010-2012) after approval of the ethics committee. Sixty patients, who met the inclusion criteria of immunobullous disease, were included in the study. Skin biopsy for histopathology and direct immunofluorescence (DIF) examination was taken. DIF using salt-split technique was done in few of the cases. The final diagnosis was based on clinical, histopathology and DIF findings. Pearson's coefficient of correlation (r) was calculated. Statistical Analysis was done using Epi info version. 7.0. Results: Fifty-three cases with clinical diagnosis of autoimmune bullous diseases were evaluated. In 88.6% of cases, histopathology diagnosis was consistent with clinical diagnosis and in 75.5% of cases, DIF findings were consistent with clinical diagnosis. A positive relation was seen between clinical and DIF findings with r = 0.65 and between histopathology and DIF findings with r = 0.75. DIF positivity was seen in 100% cases of bullous pemphigoid (BP) and pemphigus foliaceous and 94.7% cases of pemphigus vulgaris, which was statistically significant with p < 0.05. In DIF salt-split test, deposition was seen on roof of blister in BP whereas on floor in epidermolysis bullosa acquisita. Conclusion: Our study provides evidence-based guidance for the diagnosis and classification of various immunobullous disorders. DIF test should be done in conjunction with histopathology for definitive diagnosis and to minimize both: False-positive and false-negative results.