The investigation of concomitant dermal and oral lichen planus in patients referred to Zahedan University centres

Abstract

Lichen planus (LP) is a common chronic immunologic inflammatory epidermal and mucocutaneous disorder involving skin, oral mucosa and both sometimes, the main cause of which is still unknown. Due to the importance and its prevalence, this study was carried out in order to assess the association of oral and dermal lesions in patients referring to Dermatology Clinic and Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Zahedan Dental School. In this descriptive study, a total of 99 patients with individual involvement of LP in skin or mucosa were selected among 6510 patients referring to Dermatology Clinic and Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Zahedan Dental School. The selected cases were subjected to further and exact clinical examination along with interview, while in suspected lesions, the conducted histopatologic tests obtained by biopsy were used for the evaluation. A questionnaire was completed for each patient after taking history and physical examination, including history of systemic diseases, interacting medication, smoking habits, presence of oral and dermal lesions, the onset of mucosal and skin lesions and the treatment period, oral lesions signs and the patients complaint, involvement location, form, manner of distribution, oral lesion history as well as existence of amalgam restorations alongside the lesion chi-square used to assess differences for variables. The study revealed 38 percent association of oral and dermal lesions in the study population, while individual oral lesion was observed in 60.6 percent of patients and individual dermal lesions in 39.3 percent. The most reported symptom of oral lichen planus in the study population was the Oral ulcer, while the buccal mucosa was the most common site of involvement and erosive form was the high prevalent. The most reported symptom of dermal lichen planus in the study population was the Itching, while the Simultaneous hand and foot conflict was the most common site of involvement and Papular form was the high prevalent. High incidence of dermal and oral lichen planus association revealed throughout the study calls the attention for complete systemic examinations of the patients. As this study was carried out in the dermatology clinic, it seems that other studies in dental schools as well as throughout the public will be of necessity and importance to verify the results. According to this study, there was not a significant statistical relationship between LP and other variables.