ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a case study of a 67-year-old woman who presents to the accident and emergency department with a 6-day history of severe, painful and progressive blistering. She had attended her GP eight weeks earlier with a worsening ‘burning itchy’ eruption. She had been diagnosed with urticaria and been started on a regular antihistamine with no benefit. Two weeks ago she had attended her dental practitioner with painful oral erosions, and is awaiting specialist review. Her past medical history includes a cholecystectomy and borderline abnormal thyroid function tests, for which she is on no therapy currently. She is an ex-smoker. There are no other remarkable features in her history. The patient is clearly uncomfortable at rest and it is painful for her to move during the examination. She has a symmetrical erythematous urticated eruption over the lateral aspects of her trunk, her submammary area, medial upper arms, and thighs and central back.
