The Effect of Antiretroviral Treatment on Oral Manifestations

Objective: Oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS have been well described. It is equally well described that the prevalence of oral manifestations has dramatically decreased since the introduction of antiretroviral treatment (ART). It is however recognised that the manifestations of HIV/AIDS differ between patients from the developed and developing world. The object of this investigation was to compare the prevalence of oral manifestations between ART and non-ART patients attending an outpatient clinic in Gauteng. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on data obtained from routine oral examinations on patients attending the Kalafong Immunology Clinic. Three hundred and twelve patients receiving ART and 284 not receiving ART were compared with regard to gender, CD4+ count, smoking and oral manifestations. The Chi-square test was applied to determine significant differences between the two groups. Results: Statistically significant differences were observed between the ART and non-ART group of patients with regard to gender (males: ART = 32% and non-ART = 22%, p°Ü0.01); the number of patients with a CD4+ count <200cells/mm3 (ART = 94% and non-ART = 33%, p 0.001); pseudomembranous candidiasis (ART = 44% and non-ART = 32.7%, p 0.01) and erythematous candidiasis (ART = 4.5% and non-ART = 12%, p 0.001). Conclusion: Although significant differences were observed between the two patient groups, further longitudinal observations will confirm the stage at which and nature of a possible beneficial effect of ART on oral manifestations.