Recommendations for the use of immunoapheresis in the treatment of autoimmune bullous diseases.

Despite the use of high-dose systemic corticosteroids in combination with other immunosuppressants, in some patients with autoimmune bullous diseases only insufficient improvement is achieved. In these cases and in acute severe disease, adjuvant immunoapheresis has been increasingly used. A consensus meeting was held in mid-2005 in Hamburg, aiming at developing guidelines for the use of immunoapheresis in the treatment of autoimmune bullous diseases. This paper summarizes the experts' recommendations.