Anal Involvement in Pemphigus Vulgaris

Introduction

Anal involvement in patients with pemphigus vulgaris has rarely been reported. We report 16 pemphigus vulgaris patients with anal involvement.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data on 16 patients treated at a tertiary dermatology referral center.

Results

Of 16 patients with anal involvement of pemphigus vulgaris, ten were female and six were male. The mean age of onset was 56 (range, 37–82) years. All patients had involvement of pemphigus vulgaris at multiple sites, including oral involvement. Recurrent episodes of anal pemphigus vulgaris were noted in nine (56 percent) patients, with a mean of 2.4 recurrences (range, 1–11). In all patients, pemphigus vulgaris was controlled with systemic and local therapy. Long-term follow-up for a mean of 53 (range, 4–188) months indicated that no long-term sequela occurred because of anal involvement.

Conclusions

Anal involvement in pemphigus vulgaris is not very common and generally occurs in patients with severe disease. With appropriate topical and systemic therapy, patients have full recovery with no sequelae.