Lung Abscess as a Complication of Steroid Treatment in Pemphigus Vulgaris

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a potentially fatal autoimmune disease of skin adhesion associated with autoantibodies against a number of keratinocyte antigens.¹ It is more prevalent in elderly patients, and the lesions typically occur on the scalp, face, neck, and oral cavity (about 90% of patients have oromucosal involvement). The mainstay treatment is with systemic glucocorticoids, which significantly reduced the mortality rate associated with PV compared with no treatment in the presteroid era² when it was extremely high, ranging from 60% to 90%.