Abstract: Objective To study the corelation of mucosal involvement and corticosteroid dosage in the control of bullous pemphigoid(BP). Methods One hundred and three in-patients with bullous pemphigoid hospitalized during 1988-2002 were retrospectively analyzed for their mean corticosteroid dosage for controlling the disease and the duration for complete relieving the skin lesions, as well as the duration to start corticosteroid tapering. All the patients were divided into two groups:group A (37 cases) with mucosal involvement and group B (66 cases) without mucosal involvement. Results The mean corticosteroid dosage used to control the disease in group A was much higher than that in group B (t=3.488, P<0.001). Neither the duration for complete relieving the skin lesions nor the duration to start corticosteroids tapering was significantly different between the two groups (t=0.82 and 0.41, P>0.05). Conclusion Patients with mucosal involvement require a higher dosage of corticosteroids to control the disease.

Key words: Pemphigoid, bullous, Mucosa membrane, Corticosteroids