Herpetic gingivostomatitis with severe hepatitis in a previously healthy child.

A previously healthy boy aged 9 years and 11 months was admitted due to herpetic gingivostomatitis with poor intake. He also had fever, neutropenia, and elevated serum aminotransferase level (> 1000 IU/mL). Prolonged prothrombin time, mild gastrointestinal hemorrhage and transient decreased conscious level were noted during hospital days 2 and 3. Intravenous acyclovir therapy commenced on hospital day 2 and his serum aminotransferase level peaked (> 4000 IU/mL) on hospital day 3 and then improved gradually. A throat swab was positive for human herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1, serological test was positive for acute primary HSV-1 infection, and a blood specimen was also strongly positive for HSV-1 by polymerase chain reaction. He received a 14-day course of intravenous acyclovir and recovered uneventfully. Herpetic gingivostomatitis, although mostly benign and self-limited, may be complicated with severe hepatitis, even in immunocompetent hosts.

Primary herpetic gingivostomatitis in children and adults.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate if the onset of primary herpetic gingivostomatitis (PHG) is shifting toward an adult age and compare the clinical characteristics of PHG between children and adults. METHOD AND MATERIALS: The charts of patients diagnosed with PHG in an oral medicine clinic in Bucharest, Romania, over a 10-year period were revisited. Diagnosis was based on history, clinical data, and laboratory confirmation (Tzanck cytology, polymerase chain reaction [PCR], or immunofluorescence). Seventy-three cases (38 females, 35 males) were included. The age range was between 22 months and 53 years, with a mean age of 18.6 years. All patients were healthy with no suspicion of HIV infection or immunodeficiency. RESULTS: Nearly 48% (47.94%) of the sample were in the young adult group. General symptoms (fever, malaise, and lymphadenopathy) were equally present in children and adults. The most involved areas were the gingiva, vermilion border, and tongue. No differences in the extent of lesions were observed between children and adults. Inflammatory gingivitis and pharyngotonsillitis were more frequent in children than in adults although their frequency was less than expected. CONCLUSIONS: PHG was more frequently observed in young adults than in children. No significant differences between children and adults in the severity of infection were observed. Most of the patients presented widespread lesions.

Possible association between maternal recurrent orofacial herpes in pregnancy and a lower rate of preterm birth.

OBJECTIVE: To study the possible association between orofacial herpes during pregnancy and pregnancy complications including preterm birth and low birth weight, since the results of previous studies are inconsistent. METHOD: The population-based large data set of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance System of Congenital Abnormalities was used; pregnancies in mothers with and without recurrent orofacial herpes were compared. RESULTS. Of 38,151 newborn infants, 572 (1.5%) had mothers with recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy, while 37 577 had mothers with no orofacial herpes. Pregnant women with recurrent orofacial herpes had a higher prevalence of severe nausea and vomiting, threatened preterm delivery, and placental disorders but a lower prevalence of preeclampsia. Mothers with recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy also had a somewhat longer (0.4 weeks) gestation (adjusted t = 2.7; p = 0.006) and an obviously lower proportion of preterm births (3.5% vs. 9.3%; adjusted POR with 95% CI = 0.42, 0.27-0.65). However, there was no significant difference in the mean birth weight and rate of low birth weight infants between the two study groups. CONCLUSION: Recurrent orofacial herpes during pregnancy is associated with a smaller proportion of preterm births.

Herpes simplex virus infection, with particular reference to the progression and complications of primary herpetic gingivostomatitis.

Primary herpetic gingivostomatitis (PHGS) represents the clinically apparent pattern of primary herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection, since the vast majority of other primary infections are symptomless. PHGS is caused predominantly by HSV-1 and affects mainly children. Prodromal symptoms, such as fever, anorexia, irritability, malaise and headache, may occur in advance of disease. The disease presents as numerous pin-head vesicles, which rupture rapidly to form painful irregular ulcerations covered by yellow-grey membranes. Sub-mandibular lymphadenitis, halitosis and refusal to drink are usual concomitant findings. Following resolution of the lesions, the virus travels through the nerve endings to the nerve cells serving the affected area, whereupon it enters a latent state. When the host becomes stressed, the virus replicates and migrates in skin, mucosae and, in rare instances, the central nervous system. A range of morbidities, or even mortality, may then occur, i.e., recurrent HSV infections, which are directly or indirectly associated with PHGS. These pathological entities range from the innocuous herpes labialis to life-threatening meningoencephalitis.

Clinical aspects and antiviral therapy in primary herpetic gingivostomatitis.

Primary symptomatic herpes simplex virus infection in children usually manifests as gingivostomatitis and is prevalent in the 1- to 3-year age group. The disease involves the buccal and gingival mucosa and the tongue, and lasts approximately 2 weeks. Two recent non-blind studies reported a more rapid regression of symptoms after treatment with aciclovir suspension. Three randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have clearly demonstrated that early aciclovir treatment significantly shortens the duration of all clinical manifestations and infectivity of affected children compared with placebo. We conclude that the treatment of herpetic gingivostomatitis with aciclovir is recommended. Treatment should be started within the first 3 days of disease onset. The proposed therapeutic dose is 15 mg/kg, 5 times daily for 5 to 7 days.

Herpetic gingivostomatitis in otherwise healthy adolescents and young adults.

The purpose of this study was to review and analyze the records of herpes simplex infections from a specialist Oral Medicine clinic in Iceland, to investigate the clinical impression that the age of patients experiencing initial infection with this virus was higher than expected and that the character of the clinical picture of the disease had changed. Records of patients with herpes infections attending the Oral Medicine clinic covering a 3-year period were examined and the clinical and virological data analyzed. Diagnosis was based on clinical appearance, history, and viral identification with culture or detection of viral DNA by means of the polymerase chain reaction. Records of 60 patients (34 female) were included in the study (mean age, 23.1 years; range, 2 68 years). No patients were known or suspected to be positive for human immunodeficiency virus, none was known to be immunocompromised, and 38 patients (mean age, 16.6 years; 21 female) were diagnosed as having primary herpetic gingivostomatitis. Eighteen patients (mean age, 36.2 years; 11 female) had lesions of recurrent herpes simplex infection present on the oral mucosa. Primary infection with herpes simplex virus was more common in young adults than had been expected. Recurrent infections appeared on the oral mucosal even in otherwise healthy patients, and the clinical course of these infections in this age group sometimes followed a more severe course than that seen in young children.

Contribuiçäo ao estudo da infecçäo herpética na cavidade bucal / Contribution to the study of herpetic infection in the oral cavity

Infecçäo herpética na cavidade bucal. Abordam-se a etiologia, manifestaçöes clínicas e orientaçäo terapêutica da infecçäo causada pelo vírus herpes simples na cavidade bucal. Chega-se a conclusäo que a infecçäo herpética é causada por um vírus com alto poder de contaminaçäo, ocorrendo pelo contato direto e que a maioria da populaçäo adulta alberga o vírus, sendo que há inúmeras formas de tratamento para a infecçäo herpética, tais como, o aciclovir, o IDU e levamisole

Subclinical reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 in the oral cavity.

Reactivation in the oral cavity either symptomatically (recrudescence) or without symptoms (recurrence) may contribute to the transmission of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), especially in critical areas of exposure such as dentistry. In order to measure the frequency of HSV-1 reactivation, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on oral swabs collected from 30 healthy people over a period of 58-161 days. In total 19 of 25 (76%) seropositive people were PCR-positive at least once, 6 of these 19 (32%) had recrudescence and 13 (68%) had only asymptomatic reactivation. Frequencies of additional recurrences were higher in people showing symptomatic reactivation than in those who had only recurrences. Recrudescence is a risk factor for elevated levels of asymptomatic HSV-shedding. In most cases HSV-1 was detected only by nested PCR investigated by early onset of therapy or time span before sampling.

Herpesvirus-induced diseases: oral manifestations and current treatment options.

The dentist is often the first health professional to be contracted by patients who develop acute orofacial symptoms of viral conditions such as shingles (varicella zoster) or herpetic gingivostomatitis. The diagnosis, treatment, and management of virally induced oral diseases is a challenge inasmuch as their presentation is atypical and may be complicated by immunosuppression. However, an increasing body of knowledge regarding the manifestations of viral infections in immunocompromised patients and the advances achieved in antiviral drug therapy during the past several years should make the task less daunting for the dentist. In this paper, the natural history, typical and atypical oral manifestations, diagnosis, current treatment options, and advances in the prevention of common herpesvirus-induced diseases are reviewed, with particular attention to primary and recurrent varicella zoster virus and herpes simplex type 1 infections.

Reactivation of oral herpes simplex virus: implications for clinical management of herpes simplex virus recurrence during radiotherapy.

Herpes viruses are characterized by their ability to establish and maintain latent infections that can be reactivated. Several stimuli can trigger the reactivation of herpes viruses, which are perhaps best recognized in the recurrent blisters and ulcers associated with herpes simplex virus. We present two clinical cases of reactivation of herpes simplex virus during radiation therapy for management of cancers of the head and neck. Although the role of ionizing radiation in the reactivation of herpes simplex virus has not been established, we review the viral and host events associated with the establishment of orofacial herpes simplex virus infection, latency, and reactivation of the virus. We discuss current models of viral reactivation and suggest directions for further clinical research into the reactivation of orolabial herpes simplex virus during radiotherapy.

Attenuation of the natural course of herpes simplex virus infection in human oral epithelial cell cultures by smokeless tobacco extracts suggests the possibility of a synergistic mechanism for carcinogenesis.

High prevalence of both tobacco use and latent herpes simplex virus type 1 suggests the opportunity for synergism between these agents as cocarcinogens. In this study, postprimary human oral epithelial cell cultures were infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 pretreated with 2% extracts of either loose leaf, moist, or dry snuffs. Cultures were subsequently periodically exposed to the tobacco. Parameters measured included percentage of cultures undergoing active virus production, onset and time course of cytopathic effects, and concentration of virus released into the media over time. Results showed inhibition of both herpes simplex virus-mediated cell lysis and viral replication by tobacco extracts. This is the first time that these phenomena have been demonstrated in normal human oral epithelial cells. The work described here provides evidence to support a hypothesis that herpes simplex virus type 1 and smokeless tobacco may act synergistically in oral carcinogenesis.

Reactivation of oral-lingual herpes by chlorinated swimming pool water: a case report.

The authors describe the case of a highly stressed 36-year-old man who experienced ten or more painful episodes per year of recurrent oral-lingual herpes simplex virus 1, which were only partially responsive to acyclovir therapy for three years. A three-year diary of activities, personal stresses, concurrent infections, local trauma, and other possible psychogenic, somatogenic, and environmental events was used systematically to attempt to pair the stresses with the recurrent herpes episodes. Chlorinated swimming pool water seems to have been the triggering agent of the recurrent herpes simplex virus 1 episodes due to its temporal correlation and the greater than twenty-four-month asymptomatic period after the patient discontinued swimming in chlorinated water, but continued to swim in fresh and salt water, along with his normal pursuit of all other activities and habits.

Herpes simplex and mood: a prospective study.

The effect of mood, the common cold, amount of sleep, and sunshine on recurring herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection was investigated using daily self-reports over a 3-month period from 23 female and 15 male patients with genital herpes and 26 female and two male patients with oral herpes. Results showed recurring genital HSV infection to be preceded by reduced and decreasing overall emotional well being over a period of 10 days, with a temporary improvement in the middle of the period. This pattern was significantly represented by rated nervousness and rated alertness. Females showed more marked trends for reported mood than did the males, which could not be attributed to the menstrual cycle. Conversely, males showed a more marked, strongly significant fourth-order trend for reported amount of sleep, with nadirs on the 8th and the 3rd day before the recurrence. Neither exposure to sunshine nor the common cold showed any relation to recurrence of genital HSV infection. The common cold appeared as the major precipitating factor in oral herpes. Except for a significant fourth-order trend for rated alertness, no relationship between mood and subsequent onset was found. This negative finding was interpreted as a masking effect of the common cold. Two alternative physiological theories, the ganglion trigger theory and the skin trigger theory, were discussed in relation to present findings. It was suggested that various possible mediators between mood states and recurring herpes should be investigated using the present approach, with structured diaries as complement to the rating scales.

Lidocaine overdose: another preventable case?

Physicians who prescribe viscous lidocaine preparations should be aware of the adverse effects and the high risk for overdose in pediatric patients. Owing to altered pharmacokinetics (increased absorption, decreased clearance, and prolonged half-life), doses that are innocuous for adults may present a significant potential toxic hazard in children. Lidocaine should not be used to treat painful mouth lesions in children until further safety data are available. Benzocaine may be considered as a safe alternative to lidocaine. Its low incidence of side effects makes it a safer choice for infants and children. If no other choices are appropriate, then very specific instructions should be given to parents. The amount, frequency, maximum daily dose, and mode of administration should be clearly communicated (eg, cotton pledget to individual lesions, one-half dropper to each cheek every four hours, or 20 minutes before meals). They should never be prescribed on a "PRN" basis.