Adjuvant high-dose intravenous gammaglobulin in the treatment of pemphigus and bullous pemphigoid: experience in six patients.

At present, initial high-dose prednisone is the treatment of choice for patients with pemphigus and bullous pemphigoid. To reduce the risks associated with long-term corticosteroid treatment, other immunosuppressants are often given as steroid-sparing agents. Occasionally, the dose of steroids cannot be reduced. In this study, we report six patients with pemphigus vulgaris, pemphigus foliaceus and bullous pemphigoid, in whom the daily corticosteroid dose could only be tapered to acceptable, effective, maintenance levels following treatment with high-dose intravenous gammaglobulin.