Rare clinical form in two patients affected by a new variant of endemic pemphigus in northern Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Recently, the authors described a new variant of endemic pemphigus foliaceus in rural areas surrounding El Bagre, Colombia, but without association with malignant tumors. METHODS: The authors' 10-year fieldwork provided the opportunity to observe various manifestations of El Bagre endemic pemphigus foliaceus, including the presence of bilateral plaques in pretibial areas. RESULTS: Based on personal experience and literature reviews, the authors have correlated the auto-antibody profile with the appearance of pretibial plaques. CONCLUSION: Since pretibial plaques occur in patients with both fogo selvagem and El Bagre variants of endemic pemphigus foliaceus, as well as in other forms of pemphigoid, these diseases must be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with clinical, immunologic, and/or epidemiologic risk factors.