Simultaneous Oral and Umbilical Locations as a First Sign of Pemphigus Vulgaris

The place of pemphigus vulgaris (PV) among autoimmune bullous diseases (AIBD) is well established. It is an acquired chronic, autoimmune, vesiculobullous disease in which IgG antibodies target desmosomal proteins to produce intraepithelial mucocutaneous blistering. The diagnosis is often challenging for the clinicians. It requires a combination of three major features: clinical, histopathological, and immunological. Clinically, oral lesions are the first manifestations of the disease in 50-90% of the patients with widespread blisters affecting the oral mucosa. On the skin, lesions are characterized by flaccid blisters that rapidly progress into erosions and crust formation. Umbilical lesions as a clinical manifestation of PV are peculiar and have rarely been reported, and they are not yet completely elucidated. Umbilical region involvement in patients with pemphigus was assessed in a limited study totalling just 10 patients. This localisation may be a valuable hint easing the diagnosis at the clinical level for patients with oral mucosal blisters. Dentists must be familiar with the clinical manifestations of PV to make an early diagnosis and start an early treatment which determines the prognosis of the disease. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the coexistence of these lesions with the oral lesions as a first sign of PV in the absence of skin involvement was reported in only one case of pemphigus vegetans (PVe). In this paper, we describe an observation of a female patient that was diagnosed with PV that begun with simultaneous oral and umbilical locations which coexisted for a period of 4 months before the appearance of other cutaneous lesions. We highlight the role of dentists, by being familiar with the clinical manifestations of PV, to make an early diagnosis to start an early treatment which determines the prognosis of the disease and to follow closely the evolution of lesions to change treatment if required. We also discuss the clinical, histological, and immunological features of the disease that enabled the differential diagnosis as well as the appropriate therapeutic management.

Synchrones Auftreten der klinischen Varianten: Pemphigus vegetans Typ Neumann und oraler Pemphigus vulgaris – eine seltene Variante

ZusammenfassungWir berichten über einen Fall synchronen Auftretens zweier Varianten derselben Grunderkrankung: Pemphigus vegetans Typ Neumann und oraler Pemphigus vulgaris. Diese Manifestationskombination wurde bisher in der Literatur nur selten beschrieben. Eine 52-jährige Patientin stellte sich mit schmerzhaften Blasen an der Mundschleimhaut vor, welche die Nahrungsaufnahme massiv einschränkten. Enoral, labial sowie pharyngeal zeigten sich flächige, krustig belegte Erosionen sowie Exulzerationen. Inguinal bestanden konfluierende, bräunliche, derb-papillomatöse Plaques. Die entnommenen Probebiopsien zeigten in der oralen Epidermis eine Akanthose, Spongiose und intraepitheliale Exozytose von Granulozyten. Inguinal zeigte sich eine Hyperparakeratose, Pseudoepitheliomatose und gemischtzelliges Entzündungsinfiltrat mit zahlreichen eosinophilen Granulozyten mit epithelialer Exozytose der Granulozyten und Lymphozyten. In der direkten Immunfluoreszenz zeigte sich das Bild einer Pemphigus-Erkrankung. Die indirekte Immunfluoreszenz zeigte zirkulierende Antikörper gegen epidermale interzelluläre Antigene. Die durchgeführten apparativen sowie laborchemischen Untersuchungen ergaben keinen Hinweis auf einen malignen Prozess. Wir diagnostizierten einen Pemphigus vulgaris oral sowie einen Pemphigus vegetans Typ Neumann inguinal. Systemisch erfolgte zunächst ein Steroidstoß mittels Methylprednisolon sowie im Verlauf die Einleitung einer Dauertherapie mit Mycophenolat-Mofetil. Lokal applizierten wir Lokalanästhetika, Antimykotika, Antiseptika sowie topische Steroide. Unter der Therapie kam es zu einem ausgezeichneten Ansprechen, sodass die Patientin bereits nach wenigen Tagen wieder feste Nahrung zu sich nehmen konnte. Auch inguinal zeigte sich eine rasche Besserung durch Abflachen der Plaques.Unser Fall zeigt, dass bei derselben Patientin die klinischen Varianten Pemphigus vegetans Typ Neumann und Pemphigus vulgaris synchron vorliegen können, wobei die orale Beteiligung die für den Pemphigus vegetans beschriebene Stomatitis und Bläschenbildung übersteigt.

Pemphigus Vegetans of Neumann Type on Lip: A Case Report

: Pemphigus is a chronic autoimmune vesiculobullous disease caused by autoantibodies directed against desmogleins (Dsgs). Pemphigus vegetans is a rare variant of pemphigus vulgaris, characterized by vegetative plaques, primarily occurring in flexures. It is a less common disease and involves the skin and mucosa due to disintegration of cellular adherence (acantholysis), resulting in intradermal split. We report this case of pemphigus vegetans of Neumann type for its rare presentation. We report a case of pemphigus vegetans, involving lips in a middle-aged female and sparing flexural areas. This patient was diagnosed on the basis of histopathology and treated successfully with intralesional steroids, resulting in the resolution of her plaques.

Similar but different: distinguishing between pemphigus vegetans and pyostomatitis-pyodermatitis vegetans

A 51-year-old woman presented with a 4-month history of painful ulcers in the mouth and vulva, and painful vegetative plaques at intertriginous sites. Skin biopsies showed squamous hyperplasia and intraepidermal eosinophilic pustulation. Skin direct immunofluorescence (DIF) revealed intercellular deposition of IgG and C3 in the lower part of the epidermis, while serum indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) confirmed the presence of antiepithelial antibodies. The patient was diagnosed with pemphigus vegetans, and successfully treated with dapsone, prednisolone and topical steroids. Although pemphigus vegetans and pyostomatitis-pyodermatitis vegetans can show identical clinical and histological features, the presence or absence of comorbid inflammatory bowel disease, and the results of both skin DIF and serum IIF can be used to distinguish between these two conditions. This case report explores the challenges in making this distinction, and the implications of establishing the correct diagnosis.

Analysis of clinical and diagnostic features and criteria for the effectiveness of treatment of autoimmune bullous dermatoses pemphigus group

The modern classification of autoimmune bullous dermatoses is represented by three groups of diseases that have not only clinical, but also histomorphological, histochemical and immunogenetic similarities. Autoimmune bullous dermatoses are a group of heterogeneous diseases accompanied by the formation of blisters and erosions on the skin and/or mucous membranes under the influence of specific autoimmune complexes. The main clinical manifestations and diagnostic markers of autoimmune bullous dermatoses (ABD) belonging to the pemphigus group are considered.Objective — to analyze the prevalence of clinical forms of pemphigus in the southern region of Ukraine for the period from 2010 to 2020.Materials and methods. The observation group consisted of 88 patients aged 21 to 75 years. The features of clinical manifestations of typical and atypical forms of pemphigus have been studied, a diagnostic algorithm and criteria for the effectiveness of treatment in the early stages of the disease have been developed.Results and discussion. Pemphigus vulgaris was found in 61 (69.3 %), pemphigus vegetans — in 7 (7.9 %), pemphigus erythematosus — in 6 (6.8 %), herpetiform pemphigus — in 4 (4.5 %), IgA pemphigus — in 3 (3.4 %), paraneoplastic pemphigus — in 3 (3.4 %) patients.Conclusions. Modern clinical diagnostic features of ABD (pemphigus group) require the inclusion of immunofluorescence microscopy, direct and indirect enzyme immunoassay in laboratory screening. Not only positive clinical dynamics, but also the rate of disappearance of autoantibodies that induce the diseases (desmoglein, desmoplakin, periplakin, etc.) should be considered the criteria of the effectiveness of treatment of patients with ABD. At the same time, knowledge of the clinical features of ABD and the diseases that mimic them remains an important aspect.