Retrospective analysis of the forty-six patients with bullous pemphigoid followed-up in our clinic

Abstract

Background and Design: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune disease characterised by widespread itchy plaques and subepithelial blisterings and usually affects the elderly population. Due to the chronic nature of the disease, to prevent the side effects of chronic steroid treatment, adjuvant immunosuppressive (mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine, methotrexate) and anti-inflammatory (tetracycline, nicotinamide, dapsone) agents may be used. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the clinical and demographic characteristics and applied treatments of 46 patients with the diagnosis of BP and compared with literature data. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the records of 46 patients who received clinical and histopathological diagnosis of BP and followed up in our clinic between 2006 and 2013. Results: Of the 46 patients, 22 were female and 24 male. The mean age of onset was 69.54 years (range: 18-105). The duration of the lesion ranged from 1 week to 10 months with a median duration of 8 weeks. The most frequent comorbid chronic disease was hypertension detected in 28 (60.8%) patients. Only four patients had a history of malignancy before the onset of the disease. Nineteen patients (42%) used more than 5 agents for comorbid diseases. Thirty-two patients (69.5%) used systemic corticosteroids alone and ten (22%) patients needed additional adjuvant therapies. Conclusion: BP is a major cause of morbidity in the elderly population receiving multiple drug treatment. To avoid the side effects of steroid therapy, especially in patients with severe disease, short-term use of additional immunosuppressive agents appears to be safe and effective.