[Herpes gestationis: clinical and optic immunofluorescence findings]

Reported in this paper are two patients on whom gestational herpes was diagnosed by clinical examination as well as by optico-immunofluorescent checks. Direct immunofluorescence technique has now enabled diagnosis with higher accuracy of gestational herpes, a dermatosis specific of pregnancy, with diagnosis proper being preceded by identification of C3 and C5 complement fixation. In both cases, symptoms had appeared in the second trimester. They had started from the umbilical region and then affected the entire trunk and extremities. In one of the patients, symptoms disappeared immediately after delivery, while exacerbation was recordable from the second in the puerperium. The pathological process was controlled in either case by topical application of corticosteroids. The symptoms of these cases, diagnosed by optico-immunofluorescent methods, are compared with clinical reports about gestational herpes cases in earlier literature.