Chronic Ulcerative Stomatitis: A Case Report

BACKGROUND: Certain mucocutaneous diseases present with painful, ulcerative, or erosive oral manifestations. Chronic ulcerative stomatitis is a newly recognized disease of unknown origin which presents clinically with features of desquamative gingivitis. This report marks only the thirteenth case reported in the world literature. A review of previous reports and studies is presented along with a review of immunofluorescence techniques critical to proper diagnosis. These diseases are difficult to diagnose without the use of immunofluorescence techniques. A 54-year-old Caucasian woman presented with a 2- to 3-year history of stomatitis and dry mouth. METHODS: Direct immunofluorescence revealed a speckled pattern of IgG deposits in the basal one-third of the epithelium, while indirect immunofluorescence confirmed the presence of stratified epithelium-specific antinuclear antigen (SES-ANA), both pathognomonic for chronic ulcerative stomatitis. RESULTS: The patient was successfully treated using topical corticosteroid therapy.