CORRELATION OF PEMPHIGUS VULGARIS ANTIBODY TITERS BY INDIRECT IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE WITH ACTIVITY OF DISEASE BASED ON PEMPHIGUS AREA AND ACTIVITY SCORE (PAAS)

Indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) has been used to identify and measure autoantibody levels in pemphigus vulgaris but data about relationship between clinical severity of disease and antibody titers by IIF have been conflicting. We conducted this cross-sectional study to correlate the severity of oral and/or cutaneous involvement in patients with pemphigus vulgaris based on Pemphigus Area and Activity Score with IIF titers. Sixty-one new pemphigus vulgaris patients were included in this study. Human prepuce was used as substrate for IIF and assessment of disease severity was based on Pemphigus Area and Activity Score. The mean±SD age was 44.04±30.46 years, with a range of 18 to 79 years. IIF was positive in 56 (91.8%) patients. There was a significant relationship between total disease score and IIF titers ((P<0.001). Also a significant relationship was found between skin score (P=0.04) and mucosal score (P=0.04) with IIF titers. Our results show that there is a significant relationship between disease activity based on Pemphigus Area and Activity Score and antibody titers by IIF. Further studies are recommended to determine the usefulness of this technique for monitoring disease.