The Oral Manifestation of Hepatitis Patients Visiting Tertiary Care Clinics of Karachi

Abstract

Background: The present study aimed to find out the most frequent Oral lesions in hepatitis B and C patients in the local population and correlate it with age and gender.

Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was designed at Sindh Institute of Oral Health Sciences at the department of Oral medicine. We studied the records of patients coming to OPD from 2016 till 2021 diagnosed with hepatitis B and C for treatment. Convenience sampling was done. Incomplete forms and data of the patients with comorbid conditions such as Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis or Hypertension were removed as a part of the protocol.

Results: Data of sixty-seven patients was included in the study. Data analysis was done through SPSS ver.18. Frequency of the oral lesions in hepatitis B and C was assessed and the relationship between hepatitis and oral lesions was also explored by applying t-test. Male to female ratio was 1: 1.5. The most frequent lesion in both hepatitis B and C was Periodontitis followed by gingivitis and oral lichen planus. Also, the relationship between hepatitis C and oral lesions was significant at the level of p-value of 0.05% while for hepatitis B and effect on the treatment of hepatitis was no significant.

Conclusion: The findings of the study show that the Hepatitis C has a significant relationship with oral lesions and presence of chronic periodontitis or gingivitis and oral lichen planus requires further testing for HCV and HBV status which would result in early diagnosis and treatment decreasing the chances of complications such as liver cirrhosis in long term and spread of infection.

Keywords: Periodontitis, Oral lesions, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Gingivitis.