Pemphigus vulgaris: the manifestations and long-term management of 55 patients with oral lesions.

Abstract

Perhaps surprisingly, the manifestations and management of patients with pemphigus vulgaris and oral lesions have been detailed only infrequently. The present study has examined the clinical features, diagnosis and management of a cohort of 55 patients, including three adolescents, with pemphigus vulgaris predominantly affecting the oral mucosa. There was about a 6-month delay from the onset of symptoms until presentation for diagnosis, longer in men than in women. Patients typically had multiple lesions affecting mainly the buccal and/or palatal mucosae, and over half the patients had lesions affecting non-oral mucosal sites. Nearly one-quarter (24%) had cutaneous involvement. Most patients were otherwise healthy with no other autoimmune disorders. Classical histopathological features of pemphigus vulgaris were present in all patients, as well as IgG intraepithelial deposits in all patients tested and circulating epithelial antibodies in most. Thirty-two patients were treated in the clinic, four responding to topical immunosuppressive therapy, the remainder needing and responding, at least in part, to systemic immunosuppression. Systemic corticosteroids often with adjunctive immunosuppressives, particularly azathioprine, were required in 87% of patients. In 18% of the patients, the disease resolved in 3 months, but 76% had recalcitrant disease. Adverse effects were seen in 78%, and two patients died, at least one as a consequence of immunosuppressive therapy. It is concluded that pemphigus vulgaris affecting the oral mucosa is still diagnosed only after considerable delay because patients, especially men, present late; it has a chronic course; it is often associated with lesions in other mucosae and/or skin; it can be resistant to currently available therapies; and immunosuppressive therapy frequently produces adverse effects, occasionally lethal.