Periodontal disease and risk factors in HIV positive patients

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the prevalence of periodontal disease and the association of risk factors, such as smoking and drug use in patients with the HIV virus. The sample was consisted of 48 positive HIV individuals: 24 female subjects and 24 male subjects, at an average age of 33 years old, participants of the DST-Aids program of the Cesar Santos Municipal Hospital, in the sector of Day Hospital of Passo Fundo/ RS. Among these patients, 32 showed assymptomatic for HIV (66,66%), 11 symptomatic for HIV (22,91%) and five (10,42%) did not have laboratorial tests of viral charge or CD4 counting. A calibrated examiner carried out a periodontal clinical test of the patients, from a standardized clinical record file, which was consisted of plaque level and gingival bleeding, depth of probing and level of periodontal destruction. It was observed that the periodontitis had manifested more in assymptomatic patients for HIV, since 12 presented shallow pockets (25%), 11 moderate pockets (22,91%) and 9 severe pockets (18,75%). Among the risk factors, smoke can be highlighted as a prevailing factor, showing a reduction of 50% of severe periodontitis in non-smoking subjects. The periodontal disease on the studied population did not show a direct correlation with the CD4 lymphocyte number. Key words: Periodontal disease. Risk factors. Aids. Immunology. CD4 lymphocyte