Scope of practice, referral patterns and lesion occurrence of an oral medicine service in Australia

AIM: The purpose of this study was to examine the scope of practice, lesion occurrence and utilisation of referral-based hospital and private practice oral medicine and oral pathology (OMP) services in Australia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical records of patients referred to a hospital (n=500) and private (nbequals;1104) OMP clinic were audited. For each patient, the following parameters were recorded: age, gender, source of referral, reason for referral, site of lesion/condition if applicable, medical and drug history, diagnostic services utilised, clinical and histopathological diagnoses rendered, medications prescribed and further treatment required. RESULTS: A majority of the referrals were generated by general dental practitioners. The most commonly seen problems were epithelial hyperplasia/hyperkeratosis, oral candidosis, oral lichen planus, xerostomia, recurrent aphthous ulcers and burning mouth syndrome. OMP specialists requested diagnostic imaging for 13% of hospital and 9.42% of private patients, diagnostic biopsies were required for 18.4% of hospital and 19.3% of private patients, blood tests were ordered for 14.4% of hospital and 12.13% of private patients, while medications were prescribed for approximately 36% of hospital and 51% of private patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to detail the scope of practice, lesion occurrence and utilisation of services offered by OMP specialists in Australia. The demand for OMP services is strong

Aspectos micológicos e suscetibilidade in vitro de leveduras do gênero Candida em pacientes HIV-positivos provenientes do Estado de Mato Grosso Mycological aspects and susceptibility in vitro the yeast of the genus Candida from HIV-positive patients in the State of Mato Grosso

INTRODUÇÃO: A candidíase é uma das infecções fúngicas mais frequentes entre os pacientes infectados pelo vírus da imunodeficiência humana. O presente estudo objetivou a caracterização das leveduras do gênero Candida de distintas amostras clínicas, provenientes de pacientes HIV - positivos, assim como a determinação do perfil de suscetibilidade in vitro a cinco drogas antifúngicas. MÉTODOS: A caracterização dos isolados de Candida sp foi realizada através da metodologia clássica, testes bioquímicos (zimograma e auxanograma) e morfológicos (prova do tubo germinativo e microcultivo em lâmina). Também, foram realizadas a técnica genotípica (PCR) e identificação pelo método comercial API 20C AUX (BioMeriéux). Para a determinação do perfil de suscetibilidade in vitro, foram utilizadas cinco drogas antifúngicas (cetoconazol, fluconazol, itraconazol, voriconazol e anfotericina B), através do método comercialmente disponível - Etest. RESULTADOS: Foram identificados 105 isolados de leveduras do gênero Candida provenientes de 102 pacientes infectados pelo vírus HIV. Destes, foram caracterizadas 82 (78,1%) Candida albicans, 8 (7,6%) Candida parapsilosis, 8 (7,6%) Candida tropicalis, 4 (3,8%) Candida krusei, 2 (1,9%) Candida glabrata e 1 (1%) Candida guilliermondii. CONCLUSÕES: Considerando o perfil geral de sensibilidade, 60% dos isolados foram suscetíveis a todos os antifúngicos testados, porém as espécies C. tropicalis e C. krusei demonstraram uma tendência a valores mais elevados de CIMs para os azóis do que os encontrados paraC. albicans, sugerindo resistência.<br>INTRODUCTION: Candidiasis is one of the most common fungal infections among patients infected by human immunodeficiency virus. The present study aimed to characterize yeasts of the genus Candida from distinct clinical samples from HIV-positive patients and determine the in vitro susceptibility profile to five antifungal drugs. METHODS: Characterization of Candida sp was achieved using the classic methodology: biochemical (zymogram and auxanogram) and micromorphology (germinative tube growth test and slide microculture) tests. Genotypic technique (PCR) and identification by the commercial method API 20C AUX (Biomeriéux) were also performed. To determine the in vitro susceptibility profile, five antifungal drugs were used (ketoconazole, fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole and amphotericin-B) following a commercially available method, the Etest. RESULTS: The procedure isolated 105 yeasts of the genus Candida from 102 HIV-infected patients. Of these, 82 (78.1%) were characterized as Candida albicans, 8 (7.6%) as C. parapsilosi s, 8 (7.6%) C. tropicalis, 4 (3.8%) C. krusei, 2 (1.9%) C. glabrata, and 1 (1%) as C. guiilliermondii. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the general profile of sensitivity, 60% of isolates were susceptible to all the antifungal drugs tested; however, the species C. tropicalis and C. krusei showed a tendency toward higher MICs to azoles than those obtained for C. albicans, suggesting resistance

Oral Manifestations of HIV Infection in Children and Adults Receiving Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy [HAART] in Dar es Salaam,Tanzania

The aim of the study was to compare the prevalence and types of HIV-related oral lesions between children and adult Tanzanian patients on HAART with those not on HAART and to relate the occurrence of the lesions with anti-HIV drug regimen, clinical stage of HIV disease and CD4+ cell count. Participants were 532 HIV infected patients, 51 children and 481 adults, 165 males and 367 females. Children were aged 2–17 years and adults 18 and 67 years. Participants were recruited consecutively at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) HIV clinic from October 2004 to September 2005. Investigations included; interviews, physical examinations, HIV testing and enumeration of CD4+ T cells. A total of 237 HIV-associated oral lesions were observed in 210 (39.5%) patients. Oral candidiasis was the commonest (23.5%), followed by mucosal hyperpigmentation (4.7%). There was a significant difference in the occurrence of oral candidiasis (2 = 4.31; df = 1; p = 0.03) and parotid enlargement (2 = 36.5; df = 1; p = 0.04) between children and adults. Adult patients who were on HAART had a significantly lower risk of; oral lesions (OR = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.22 – 0.47; p = 0.005), oral candidiasis (OR = 0.28; 95% CI = 0.18 – 0.44; p = 0.003) and oral hairy leukoplakia (OR = 0.18; 95% CI = 0.04 – 0.85; p = 0.03). There was no significant reduction in occurrence of oral lesions in children on HAART (OR = 0.35; 95% CI = 0.11–1.14; p = 0.15). There was also a significant association between the presence of oral lesions and CD4+ cell count < 200 cell/mm3 (2 = 52.4; df = 2; p = 0.006) and with WHO clinical stage (2 = 121; df = 3; p = 0.008). Oral lesions were also associated with tobacco smoking (2 = 8.17; df = 2; p = 0.04). Adult patients receiving HAART had a significantly lower prevalence of oral lesions, particularly oral candidiasis and oral hairy leukoplakia. There was no significant change in occurrence of oral lesions in children receivin

Detection of the Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV) by In situ Hybridization as Definitive Diagnosis of Hairy Leukoplakia

Histopathological findings in cases of hairy leukoplakia (HL) are not exclusive to this lesion. A total of 36 tissue samples from patients previously diagnosed with HL based solely on morphological aspects were used in this study. Our purpose was to confirm the presence of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) in these tissue samples by in situ hybridization (ISH), and to compare the detection of EBV with specific histopathological findings observed in each case. Among the 36 specimens, 80.55% were EBV positive, confirming the previous clinical and histhophatological diagnosis. None of the histopathological findings analyzed correlated with the presence or absence of EBV. This shows that a definitive diagnosis of HL cannot be established based on histopathological findings alone. Because there are many important implications on the establishment of definitive diagnosis of HL, the detection of EBV by ISH is obligatory