Prevalence, Incidence, and Recurrence of Oral Lesions Among HIV-Infected Patients on HAART in Alabama: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study
South Med J. 2011 Aug;104(8):561-566

From the Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; Department of General Dental Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; Sparkman Center for Global Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama; and School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to quantify prevalence, incidence, and recurrence of oral lesions (OL) among a population in the Southeast.

METHODS: A retrospective study based on chart review was conducted among patients (n = 744) who were ≥19 years of age and initiated highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) between January 2000 and June 2006 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) 1917 Clinic. Patients' laboratory data and oral conditions were recorded for 2 years after enrollment into the study.

RESULTS: During 2 years of follow-up, the period prevalence of individuals experienced at least one OL was 35.6% (266/744). Among all of the 374 episodes of OL, 183 were new cases, while 57 were recurrences. The OL person-visit incidence rate was 0.02 per 100 person-visits. Oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) was the most frequent manifestation in terms of period prevalence (74.9%) with a person-visit incident rate of 0.01 per 100 person-visits.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing HAART continue to be affected by HIV-related oral conditions, especially OPC. These results clearly indicate that OL during HIV infection are still highly prevalent in spite of the improvements in medical care and the availability of HAART.