Prevalence of oral and peri-oral lesions among a group of Saudi HIV-infected patients

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of oral and peri-oral lesions among a group of Saudi human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients.

METHODS: A cross-sectional controlled study was conducted on 50 HIV-infected Saudi patients from King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, and 100 healthy individuals recruited from Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between November 2012 to June 2013. All subjects underwent conventional oral examinations to identify mucosal lesions according to the EC-Clearinghouse/World Health Organization classifications.

RESULTS: The findings revealed that 68% of the HIV group exhibited HIV-related lesions compared with 4% in the control group. The most commonly observed oral or peri-oral HIV manifestations, which were statistically different between the groups were in descending order, mucosal hyperpigmentation: 28 (56%), candidiasis: 7 (14%), dry lips/dry mucosa: 6 (12%), and unilateral or bilateral swelling of major salivary glands: 5 (10%). Other non HIV-related oral lesions that were reported more in the HIV group than the control group was coated tongue and leukoedema (p<0.05). The relationship of the reported HIV oral manifestations to demographic data, some relevant local and systemic risk factors, and medical characteristics of the HIV population were analyzed, however, the results showed no statistical significant relations were observed (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION: Oral mucosal conditions were highly prevalent in HIV-infected patients, which suggested that patients with HIV should undergo periodic oral examinations, and patients with HIV-related lesions should undergo screening tests for HIV infection.