Abstract
Pemphigoid gestationis is a rare autoimmune blistering disease of pregnancy. It is characterized by pruritic, urticarial plaques with the development of tense vesicles and bullae within the lesions. Pemphigoid gestationis has been associated with premature delivery, small-for-gestational-age infants. Recurrences with subsequent pregnancies are often more severe. Oral glucocorticoids are the mainstay of therapy. Differentiation of pemphigoid gestationis from pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy is essential because management and outcomes differ. In instances in which clinical diagnosis is difficult, direct immunofluorescence tests, immunoblots, or ELISA studies of anti-basement-membrane zone antibodies are useful in establishing the diagnosis.
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Autoimmune Diseases / diagnosis*
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Autoimmune Diseases / drug therapy
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Autoimmune Diseases / immunology
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Basement Membrane / immunology
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Basement Membrane / metabolism
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Basement Membrane / pathology
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Complement C3 / immunology
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Complement C3 / metabolism
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Diphenhydramine / therapeutic use
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Eosinophils / immunology
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Eosinophils / pathology
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Female
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Fibrin / metabolism
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Humans
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Immunoglobulin G / immunology
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Immunoglobulin G / metabolism
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Infant, Newborn
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Lymphocytes / immunology
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Lymphocytes / pathology
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Male
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Pemphigoid Gestationis / diagnosis*
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Pemphigoid Gestationis / drug therapy
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Pemphigoid Gestationis / immunology
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Prednisone / therapeutic use
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Pregnancy
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Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous / diagnosis
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Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous / drug therapy
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Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous / immunology
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Treatment Outcome
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Triamcinolone / therapeutic use
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Urticaria / diagnosis
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Urticaria / drug therapy
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Urticaria / immunology
Substances
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Complement C3
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Immunoglobulin G
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Triamcinolone
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Diphenhydramine
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Fibrin
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Prednisone