Comparison of oral lesion prevalence in renal transplant patients under immunosuppressive therapy and healthy controls.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of oral lesions in a group of renal transplant patients (RTPs) compared with healthy controls (HCs).

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study included 500 RTPs (307 men, 193 women, mean age 53.63 years) and 501 HCs (314 men, 187 women, mean age 52.25 years). Demographic and pharmacologic data were recorded for all subjects.

RESULTS: Forty percent of the RTPs presented with oral lesions compared to 23.4% of HCs. The most frequent lesion was candidiasis (7.4% in RTPs, 4.19% in HCs). Lip herpes simplex lesions were observed in 2.6% of RTPs and 2.2% of HCs; aphthae were observed in 2.2% of RTPs and 1% of HCs. Xerostomia prevalence was significantly greater in RTPs than HCs (1.4%vs 0.2%). Lichen planus appeared in 0.6% of RTPs, and one RTP suffered from hairy leukoplakia.

CONCLUSIONS: We report a lower prevalence of oral candidiasis and hairy leukoplakia in RTPs than previous reports and describe other oral conditions not presented before in prevalence studies of RTPs, such as xerostomia, aphthous ulcers and lichen planus. These oral lesion changes in RTPs and the risk of malignancy emphasize the importance of regular oral screening in these patients.