Immunofluorescent study of cytologic smears in oral pemphigus: A simple diagnostic technique

This study was undertaken in order to explore the diagnostic efficacy of the direct immunofluorescent technique for demonstration in vivo bound immunoglobulins to desquamated epithelial cells from patients with oral pemphigus. Cytologic smears were obtained with a wooden spatula from the oral lesions of thirty patients with known pemphigus vulgaris. Control smears were taken from thirty-five patients twenty suffering from various other mucosal diseases and fifteen devoid of oral lesions. The smears were stored at -30 degrees C. and prepared within 48 hours for examination by the direct immunofluorescent technique. Deposition of IgG was demonstrated in all thirty smears from the oral pemphigus lesions. None of the control smears gave positive results. These findings suggest that the direct immunofluorescent technique using cytologic smears may provide an additional simple and reliable method in the diagnosis or oral pemphigus vulgaris.