Bullous pemphigoid: Profile and outcome in a series of 100 cases in Singapore

Background: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is the most common autoimmune subepidermal blistering disease. Objective: We report the profile and outcome of 100 cases of BP seen at our center. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients with BP seen at Changi General Hospital, Singapore from 2004 to 2012. Results: There were 57 female and 43 male patients. Other than the usual comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus and neurological diseases, there were a high incidence of osteoporosis (29%), hypothyroidism (6%), malignancy (6%), and hepatitis B carrier (3%). Peripheral blood eosinophilia is seen in almost half of the patients. The study results showed the higher sensitivity of direct immunofluorescence (93.5%) as compared to indirect immunofluorescence (89.1%). Topical and systemic corticosteroids were the standard treatment (96%). The duration to remission ranged from 2 weeks to 34 months, with a mean age of 7 months. Doxycycline and nicotinamide were effective for localized BP. The mortality rate was 35%. Conclusion: In Singapore, BP is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. High mortality of BP is related to the advanced age of the patients, associated medical conditions and complications from the treatment.