A retrospective study of 102 patients with pemphigus

Abstract

Background and Design: Pemphigus is a severe and life-threatening chronic autoimmune mucocutaneous blistering disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate and analyze the course, prognostic factors and epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic features of pemphigus in patients followed between 2004 and 2013. Materials and Methods: We performed a 10-year retrospective study of patients diagnosed with pemphigus in Erzurum. The parameters that were evaluated include age, sex, diagnostic methods, duration of hospitalizations, distribution of lesions, duration of treatment and therapeutic doses. Results: The results showed that the estimated annual incidence rate was 1.31 cases per 100.000 person-years. The male to female ratio was 1: 0.81. The mean age at onset of the disease was 48 years (range: 7-95 years). Thirty-six patients had only skin lesions and sixty-six cases had both skin and oral mucosal lesions. The majority of the patients (58.8%) with pemphigus were treated with middle or high-dose corticosteroids (40-160 mg/day). Conclusions: Pemphigus vulgaris is the most common clinical subtype in Erzurum and the mean age of the disease onset in the present study was found to be a decade earlier than in other parts of the world. The patients with both oral mucosa and skin involvement required higher corticosteroid doses and longer hospitalization time when compared to the patients with oral mucosa involvement alone.