Oral manifestations in human immunodefi ciency virus infected pediatric patients receiving and not receiving antiretroviral therapy: a cross sectional study

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess and compare oral manifestations of human immunodefi ciency virus (HIV) infected pediatric patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART) and those not undergoing ART. A cross sectional study included HIV positive children (receiving and not receiving ART) aged 5-15 years, registered at the District Hospital ART Centre, Udaipur, and HIV negative schoolchildren. HIV related oral lesions were diagnosed according to the World Health Organization criteria. Sociodemographic and other related information were also recorded. CD4+ cell count was determined in all study subjects. The χ2-test, stepwise multiple linear regression and logistic regression were used on statistical analysis. In all tests, confi dence interval and p-value were set at 95% and ≤0.05, respectively. A greater proportion of HIV patients receiving treatment had CD4+ cell count of more than 750 cells/mm3. The majority of HIV patients receiving ART for more than three years and only 20% of those not receiving ART were free from any oral lesions. The results of the present study demonstrated ART to be eff ective in reducing the prevalence of HIV related oral lesions, as already described in the literature; however, unlike previous studies, the present paper reports more valid fi ndings for having included most of the confounding variables.