The Effect Of Anti-Retroviral Therapy On The Prevalence Of Oral Manifestation In HIV Sero Positive Patients

Background & Objectives: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a highly lethal, progressively epidemic viral infection characterized by profound impairment of the immune system. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) new classification system, clinical AIDS is defined by a CD4 count of less than 200 (<200) and / or a CD4 percentage of less than 14. The main objective of the current study was to determine the prevalence of oral manifestation of HIV patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) and to compare these with the prevalence of those who were not on (HAART) therapy.
 Methods: Patients were selected from the out patient department of P.M.N.M dental college and hospital Bagalkot and patients from NGOs centers working for HIV/AIDS, Karnataka. A cross sectional was conducted amongst 100 patients diagnosed as HIV sero positive. Information regarding, date of birth, CD4 cell count were obtained from the medical records. Oral examination was done using universal precautions recommended by (CDC). Findings were recorded by using internationally accepted presumptive clinical criteria. Chi-square statistical test were conducted to describe the relationship between the prevalence of Oral manifestation and HAART therapy
Results: The detection of oral manifestation was significantly decreased in subjects on HAART therapy (32%) compared to those who were not on HAART therapy (56%), (P<0.05).
Interpretation & Conclusion:  Compared to non-HAART group, subjects on HAART group had significantly fewer HIV related oral manifestations-probably as a result of an expression of their reconstituted immune system.
By: Dr. Neelkant Patil