Prevalence of oral hairy leukoplakia in 120 pediatric patients infected with HIV-1

Oral shedding of HSV-1 and EBV and oral manifestations in paediatric chronic kidney disease patients and renal transplant recipients

OBJECTIVE

Previous research demonstrated that salivary shedding of HSV-1 and EBV occurs often in adult renal transplant recipients, but there is a lack of studies on the presence of them in the saliva of paediatric population. Therefore, the objective of this study is to describe oral characteristics and to compare the shedding profile of HSV-1 and EBV in the saliva of children with renal transplant to that of chronic kidney disease patients and controls.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study involving 100 children, being 25 renal transplant recipients, 25 chronic kidney disease patients and 50 healthy children. Demographic and oral clinical characteristics were assessed. Saliva samples were collected and submitted to screening for EBV and HSV-1 by using nested polymerase chain reaction technique. Fisher's exact, Pearson's chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for statistical analysis at a significance level of 5%.

RESULTS

Oral shedding of HSV-1 (28%) and EBV (60%) were significantly higher in renal transplant recipients compared to the other groups. Single vesicles in the oral mucosa were statistically associated with the presence of HSV-1 (p = .035). In children with chronic kidney disease, there was a higher prevalence of pale oral mucosa (32%) and enamel hypoplasia (40%) compared to paediatric renal transplant recipients and controls. Dental calculus (36%), candidiasis (8%), drug-induced gingival overgrowth (16%), mouth blisters (8%), xerostomia (12%) and salivary gland enlargement (20%) were more common in paediatric renal transplant recipients.

CONCLUSIONS

Therefore, it can be concluded that salivary shedding of HSV-1 and EBV in paediatric patients was more often found in renal transplant recipients than in the renal failure and control children. Transplanted recipients showed more oral manifestations than renal failure and control children did.

Epstein-Barr virus and skin manifestations in childhood

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human B-lymphotropic herpes virus and one of the most common viruses in humans. Specific skin signs related to EBV infection are the exanthem of mononucleosis, which is observed more frequently after ingestion of amoxicillin, and oral hairy leukoplakia, a disease occurring mostly in immunocompromised subjects with HIV infection. Other more uncommon cutaneous disorders that have been associated with EBV infection include virus-related exanthems or diseases such as Gianotti-Crosti syndrome, erythema multiforme, and acute genital ulcers. Other skin manifestations, not correlated to virus infection, such as hydroa vacciniforme and drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome have also been linked to EBV. The putative involvement of EBV in skin diseases is growing similarly to other areas of medicine, where the role of EBV infection is being investigated in potentially debilitating inflammatory diseases. The prognosis of EBV infection in healthy, immunocompetent individuals is excellent. However, lifelong infection, which is kept in check by the host immune system, determines an unpredictable risk of pathologic unpredictable scenarios. In this review, we describe the spectrum of non-tumoral dermatological manifestations that can follow EBV primary infection or reactivation of EBV in childhood.

Periodontal disease in HIV/AIDS

Since the early 1990's, the death rate from AIDS among adults has declined in most developed countries, largely because of newer antiretroviral therapies and improved access to these therapies. In addition, from 2006 to 2011, the total number of new cases of HIV infection worldwide has declined somewhat and has remained relatively constant. Nevertheless, because of the large numbers of existing and new cases of HIV infection, the dental practitioner and other healthcare practitioners will still be required to treat oral and periodontal conditions unique to HIV/AIDS as well as conventional periodontal diseases in HIV-infected adults and children. The oral and periodontal conditions most closely associated with HIV infection include oral candidiasis, oral hairy leukoplakia, Kaposi's sarcoma, salivary gland diseases, oral warts, other oral viral infections, linear gingival erythema and necrotizing gingival and periodontal diseases. While the incidence and prevalence of these oral lesions and conditions appear to be declining, in part because of antiretroviral therapy, dental and healthcare practitioners will need to continue to diagnose and treat the more conventional periodontal diseases in these HIV-infected populations. Finding low-cost and easily accessible and acceptable diagnostic and treatment approaches for both the microbiological and the inflammatory aspects of periodontal diseases in these populations are of particular importance, as the systemic spread of the local microbiota and inflammatory products of periodontal diseases may have adverse effects on both the progression of HIV infection and the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy approaches. Developing and assessing low-cost and accessible diagnostic and treatment approaches to periodontal diseases, particularly in developing countries, will require an internationally coordinated effort to design and conduct standardized clinical trials.

Pediatric Oral HIV Research in the Developing World

This article is a review of the literature between 2003 (since the last workshop) and April 2009 (Beijing workshop). It focuses on the prevalence of oral lesions associated with HIV infection, oral lesions as predictors of HIV infection, oral lesions as markers of the efficacy of highly active antiretroviral treatment and quality of life, caries risk, the management of oral lesions, and epidemiologic tests for clinical significance of oral lesions.