Chronic bullous dermatosis in Hong Kong

RCW Su, LY Chong
Social Hygiene Services (Dermatology), Department of Health, Hong Kong

The medical records of patients with chronic bullous dermatosis who have attended the Social Hygiene Service in Hong Kong were reviewed retrospectively. All skin biopsy reports in the Social Hygiene Service (Dermatology) for patients with a diagnosis of vesiculo-bullous disease were retrieved along with the respective medical records for the period from January 1985 through December 1992. The epidemiology, treatment, course, and prognostic data were reviewed. Of 234 patients with chronic bullous disease, the three most common diagnoses were bullous pemphigoid (n=149, 63.7%), pemphigus vulgaris (n=38, 16.2%), and pemphigus foliaceus (n=23, 9.9%). Only six patients (2.6%) had dermatitis herpetiformis, and another six had linear immunoglobulin A disease (2.6%). Systemic steroids (40-80 mg/day) were the mainstay of therapy for pemphigus and pemphigoid patients. The most common steroid-sparing agent employed was azathioprine. Dapsone was the treatment of choice for dermatitis herpetiformis and gluten-free diet was not employed for control of the skin condition in these patients.

Hong Kong Med J 1996;2:366-72

Key words: Pemphigoid, bullous; Skin diseases, vesiculobullous; Autoimmune diseases; Hong Kong