"Oral manifestations of HIV in accordance with CD4 count" - A cross-sectional study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Mouth acts as a mirror for most of the underlying systemic diseases. Very few studies were done in south Indian population to observe the oral manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in relation to the cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) count, and this study mainly highlights the presenting complaint of HIV patients during their dental visit. The study was aimed to determine the chief complaints of patients along with oral manifestations of HIV and correlate them to CD4 count.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One hundred consecutive HIV-positive patients were considered for the study. All the oral manifestations and the chief complaints along with the calculated CD4 counts were noted and the results were correlated. Spearman correlation was used for CD4 count and other oral manifestations.

RESULTS

The mean CD4 counts were 421 cells/mm with a standard deviation (SD) of 404.34 for the most common oral manifestation of burning mouth and 176.5 cells/mm for the least common manifestation of malignancies. The CD4 count ranged from 120 to 1100 cells/mm. The mean age and CD4 count were 38 years and 398.86, respectively. There was a statistically significant correlation with candidiasis and gingivitis, and the rest of the conditions were insignificant.

CONCLUSION

The study results suggest that the chief complaint of presentation of an HIV-positive patient is pain due to carious teeth/abscess followed by burning mouth, with candidiasis being the most common disease.