HIV-Related Oral Mucosa Lesions: A Cross-Sectional Study on a Cohort of Italian Patients.

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection can be associated with oral mucosal diseases, including oral candidiasis and HPV infection, which are putative indicators of the immune status. AIM AND METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of HIV-related oral mucosal lesions in a cohort of Italian HIV+ patients regularly attending the Clinics of Infectious Diseases. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-seven (n = 177) patients were enrolled and 30 (16.9%) of them showed HIV-related diseases of the oral mucosa. They were mainly found in male patients over 35 years old, undergoing Combination Antiretroviral Therapy (cART), and with CD4+ count < 500/µL. Oral candidiasis was the most common HIV-related oral lesion. No significant correlations could be detected between the prevalence of HPV infection and other clinical parameters (lymphocyte count, cART treatment and viral load). CONCLUSIONS: HIV-related oral mucosal diseases can correlate with immunosuppression. Early diagnosis and management of oral lesions in HIV+ patients should be part of the regular follow-up, from a multidisciplinary perspective of collaboration between oral medicine and infectious disease specialists, in an attempt to reduce morbidity due to oral lesions and modulate antiretroviral therapy according to the patient's immune status.

Oral Surgery and Osteoradionecrosis in Patients Undergoing Head and Neck Radiation Therapy: An Update of the Current Literature.

Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) is a serious long-term complication of head and neck radiotherapy (RT), which is often triggered by dental extractions. It results from avascular aseptic necrosis due to irradiated bone damage. ORN is challenging to treat and can lead to severe complications. Furthermore, ORN causes pain and distress, significantly reducing the patient's quality of life. There is currently no established preventive strategy. This narrative review aims to provide an update for the clinicians on the risk of ORN associated with oral surgery in head and neck RT patients, with a focus on the timing suitable for the oral surgery and possible ORN preventive treatments. An electronic search of articles was performed by consulting the PubMed database. Intervention and observational studies were included. A multidisciplinary approach to the patient is highly recommended to mitigate the risk of RT complications. A dental visit before commencing RT is highly advised to minimize the need for future dental extractions after irradiation, and thus the risk of ORN. Post-RT preventive strategies, in case of dento-alveolar surgery, have been proposed and include antibiotics, hyperbaric oxygen (HBO), and the combined use of pentoxifylline and tocopherol ("PENTO protocol"), but currently there is a lack of established standards of care. Some limitations in the use of HBO involve the low availability of HBO facilities, its high costs, and specific clinical contraindications; the PENTO protocol, on the other hand, although promising, lacks clinical trials to support its efficacy. Due to the enduring risk of ORN, removable prostheses are preferable to dental implants in these patients, as there is no consensus on the appropriate timing for their safe placement. Overall, established standards of care and high-quality evidence are lacking concerning both preventive strategies for ORN as well as the timing of the dental surgery. There is an urgent need to improve research for more efficacious clinical decision making.

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum of the palate: a case report and a brief review of the literature.

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), which is a genetic, multi-target disorder characterized by progressive calcification and fragmentation of elastic fibers, affects several organs, including the eyes, skin, and cardiovascular system. Diagnosis of PXE is currently based on cutaneous and ocular signs, histopathologic findings, and a patient's family history. PXE-related oral mucosal lesions are rarely reported, possibly due to the potential for misdiagnosis as Fordyce spots; however, when such lesions are reported, they are primarily localized to the vestibular mucosa of the lower lip. Here, we report the case of a female with an intraoral presentation of PXE at the labial and palatal sites. PXE was previously suspected in this patient because of the presence of cardiovascular, ocular, and cutaneous signs; however, a cutaneous biopsy showed findings not consistent with PXE. Incisional biopsy of the palatal lesion confirmed the PXE diagnosis, leading to proper management of the disorder to prevent ophthalmologic and cardiovascular complications.

Iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome and topical steroid therapy: case series and review of the literature.

Topical corticosteroids are considered first-line therapy in patients with chronic inflammatory oral mucosal diseases; among them, clobetasol propionate is one of the most widely used in oral medicine. Under physiological conditions, the transmucosal application is characterized by a significantly greater absorption than the skin application. Contrary to many publications about the side effects of topical corticosteroids in dermatology, few studies have investigated the systemic effects due to local application of these drugs on oral mucosa. Although topical steroid therapy for the management of oral diseases is generally associated with local adverse effects (candidiasis, stomatopyrosis, and hypogeusia), these drugs can also lead to systemic side effects, such as suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and Cushing's syndrome. This review reports five cases of systemic adverse effects caused by clobetasol propionate topical treatment.