Knowledge and Attitude of PLWHA concerning oral lesions of HIV/AIDS among patients of PEPFAR clinic in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Lagos, Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION

Oral manifestations in Human Immunodeficiency virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) are associated with adverse effects on quality of life such as pain, difficulty in eating, bad breath, altered taste and sometimes altered appearance. There is also a predisposition to poor nutrition which confers an additional burden on the body's immune defences and the ability to fight off infections. Knowledge of the oral lesions will enable People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA) to seek dental treatment on time.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To assess the general knowledge of HIV/AIDS, its oral manifestations and willingness to know more about its oral lesions among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Lagos, Nigeria.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A structured questionnaire was administered to two hundred and thirty-five patients (235) who were randomly selected from attendees at an NGO clinic supporting PLWHA in Lagos.

RESULTS

Majority of the participants exhibited poor knowledge of the oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS although many of them had fair knowledge of the general symptoms of HIV/AIDS. The high educational status of the subjects seemed to play little role in awareness of oral manifestations in HIV/AIDS as only 45(21.4%) of the participants had good overall knowledge having a range of 25-31 correct answers out of 210 participants. Many of the respondents (145, 69%) wish to know more about oral lesion of HIV/AIDS.

CONCLUSION

Although there is a high awareness of the general symptoms of HIV/AIDS in the study group, there is poor awareness of the oral manifestations, their presentations and management. The study also showed that PLWHA would be willing to know more about the oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS and seek dental care for their management.