J Oral Med Pain.
2023 Dec;48(4):174-180. 10.14476/jomp.2023.48.4.174.
Early Diagnosis and Management of Oral Pemphigus Vulgaris Lesions of Various Presentations
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Oral Medicine, Dental Research Institute, Pusan National University Dental Hospital, Yangsan, Korea
- 2Department of Oral Medicine, Dental Research Institute, Dental and Life Science Institute, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Korea
- KMID: 2552116
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.14476/jomp.2023.48.4.174
Abstract
- Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a chronic autoimmune bullous disease caused by autoantibodies to proteins in the oral mucosa and skin. It is a rare disease with an annual incidence of 2.059 per million in South Korea. In many patients with PV, oral mucosal lesions precede other lesions elsewhere, and oral lesions can be the only manifestation. Early diagnosis is important because the disease has a high mortality rate if untreated appropriately in the early stages, and rapid treatment initiation is associated with rapid disease control. Oral PV lesions are clinically variable. In this study, we describe oral PV lesions in a 60-year-old woman, a 75-year-old man, and a 60-year-old man presenting with various clinical presentations. Oral PV lesions can affect any part of the oral mucosa, including the buccal mucosa, gingiva, tongue, palate, and free mucosa, and can vary in appearance from desquamative gingivitis, painful ulcers, and erosions to aphthous-like stomatitis. Clinicians should be aware of the difficulty of early diagnosis in PV, particularly when oral lesions are the only manifestation, and should consider many factors, including the patient’s age, to make an accurate diagnosis and manage oral lesions to improve the patient’s quality of life and avoid delayed diagnosis.
