Brunsting-Perry cicatricial bullous pemphigoid: a clinical variant of localized acquired epidermolysis bullosa?

An 84-year-old man who had the typical clinical features of Brunsting-Perry cicatricial pemphigoid is described. Direct immunofluorescence microscopic examination of salt-split skin revealed linear deposits of IgG and C3 on the floor of the artificial bullae. Direct immunoelectron microscopic examination of peribullous skin showed dermal cleavage level below the lamina densa and granular deposits of IgG and C3 attached to and below the lamina densa in a pattern identical to epidermolysis bullosa acquisita. These findings suggest that Brunsting-Perry cicatricial pemphigoid may represent a clinical variant of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita.