Effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy use on oral manifestations in pediatric patients infected with HIV.

AIMS: The aim was to assess the prevalence of oral lesions in HIV-infected children undergoing highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), and the association between the duration of HAART usage and oral lesions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Totally, 111 medical and dental records of HIV-infected children, aged from 2 to 16 years old were reviewed for medical data, presence of oral lesions, and caries prevalence. According to the type of medication, the children were grouped as follows: 51 were under HAART (G1), 46 were using anti-retroviral medication (G2), and 14 were using no medication (G3).
RESULTS: The majority of the HIV children had AIDS (65.8%), of which 86.3% were in G1, 63% in G2, and 0% in G3. The mean length of therapy was 34.4 months, with no difference between groups (Kruskal-Wallis; P = 0.917). The prevalence of the oral lesions was 23.4%, namely, G1 was 27.5%, G2 was 21.7%, and G3 was 14.3% (P > 0.05). Gingivitis was the most common oral manifestation (15.3%) seen in the three groups, followed by gingival linear erythema and pseudomembranous candidiasis in G1 and G2. The mean values regarding deft and DMFT indexes were, respectively, 3.2 and 1.9 (G1), 2.8 and 1.6 (G2), and 3.8 and 3.0 (G3). For the patients without AIDS (n = 38), oral manifestations were seen in 29.4% of G2 compared to G1, with 0% (Chi-square; P > 0.05). In terms of therapy duration, 47.65% of the patients who had been under HAART for 18 months or less had oral manifestations, compared to 13.3% of those who had been treated for a longer time (Chi-square; P = 0.007).
CONCLUSIONS: Although the prevalence of oral lesions was similar between the groups, it was less in patients without AIDS and those under HAART. The duration of HAART usage had a significant influence on the prevalence of these lesions.