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Arch Intern Med. 2001;161:2044-2045.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a potentially fatal autoimmune disease of skin adhesion associated with autoantibodies against a number of keratinocyte antigens.¹ It is more prevalent in elderly patients, and the lesions typically occur on the scalp, face, neck, and oral cavity (about 90% of patients have oromucosal involvement). The mainstay treatment is with systemic glucocorticoids, which significantly reduced the mortality rate associated with PV compared with no treatment in the presteroid era² when it was extremely high, ranging from 60% to 90%.

Report of a Case

A 76-year-old man came to the emergency department complaining of cough and fever (temperature, 39°C). His medical history included (1) PV diagnosed 1 year before and treated with methylprednisolone tablets (24 mg/d), (2) iatrogenic diabetes secondary to steroid treatment, and (3) mild systodiastolic hypertension. Findings from physical examination, besides the widespread pemphigus lesions on the oral cavity, face, and neck, showed only slight bilateral inspiratory crackles. The results . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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