Pemphigus vegetans presenting as acrodermatitis continua suppurativa

Abstract

The authors present a 51-year-old patient with clinical signs of acrodermatitis continua suppurativa of the toes. Since histological findings failed to unambiguously support the diagnosis of acrodermatitis continua suppurativa, immunohistology was performed. The results showed intercellular epidermal fluorescence. The subsequent clinical picture (vegetating formation), the repeated histological examination (suprabasal cleft and eosinophilia), as well as the data of immunohistological findings supported the diagnosis of pemphigus vegetans Hallopeau. The patient was treated successfully with a combination of cyclosporine-A and low-dose steroid therapy. The case is of special interest, because there is only a single publication about phalangeal and nail involvement in Hallopeau's type pemphigus vegetans in the dermatological literature according to our knowledge.