We present a case of an 80-year-old male who was referred to the Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dental Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia due to gingival ulcer which was present for eight ...days. Clinical examination has revealed exposed bone on the toothless alveolar ridge in the lower molar region on the right side of 0.8 cm in diameter. Otherwise, the patient was taking doxazosin due to urinary problems and ipatropium bromide due to respiratory problems. The patient wore a 6-year-old partial lower denture. He was initially treated with periodontal bandage (Resopack, HagenWerken, Germany) for the first three days and was instructed not to wear the denture; however, no benefit could be seen. Therefore, we added a local corticosteroid (betamethasone) and an oral antiseptic (chlorhexidine digluconate) applied three times a day. After 3 weeks the lesion healed. A list of possible causative factors regarding gingival ulcers is included.
Aim: Oral cancer (OC) is characterized by a high mortality rate because most cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage. The purpose of this study was to assess population knowledge at screening for ...OC, risk factors, prevention, and early detection, and to determine whether factors such as level of education and gender affect knowledge of the respondents. Material and Methods: The study was conducted at the School of Dental Medicine University of Zagreb and the Faculty of Dental Medicine University of Rijeka using the attached questionnaire. Participants were patients who arrived for free screening examinations during World Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week from 22–28 April 2017, and answered survey questions on their knowledge of OC. Results: One hundred and eighty-five participants attended the screening event. Some participants did not answer certain questions, so the statistics with each question were made only for those respondents who answered that question. Screening event has included 99 (57.9%) females and 72 (42.1%) males (14 participants did not answer). The median age of participants was 67 years. The majority of participants (115; 80.4%) had heard about OC, but had not heard about nor previously attended OC screening examination (71 or 51.1% of females and 123 or 86.6% of males). No significant difference between genders and between participants with different levels of education was observed. The majority of participants (111;79.3%) knew that smoking was a risk factor for OC, and believed that their risk of getting OC was similar to other people in their age group and gender. Conclusions: Our results show that most participants have heard about OC, but have not heard about nor previously attend OC screenings. Future programs should be directed more to the high-risk population in order to achieve early detection and treatment of OC.
Cilj: Oralni karcinom obilježen je visokom stopom smrtnosti jer je većina slučajeva dijagnosticirana u uznapredovanom stadiju. Svrha ove studije bila je procijeniti znanje populacije prilikom probirnog programa o oralnom karcinomu, čimbenicima rizika, prevenciji i ranom otkrivanju te utvrditi utječu li čimbenici kao što su razina obrazovanja i spol na znanje ispitanika. Materijali i metode: Istraživanje je provedeno na Stomatološkom fakultetu Sveučilišta u Zagrebu i Fakultetu dentalne medicine Sveučilišta u Rijeci primjenom upitnika. Ispitanici su bili pacijenti koji su došli na probirni pregled tijekom Svjetskog dana svjesnosti o karcinomu glave i vrata od 22. do 28. travnja 2017. Ispitanici su odgovarali na pitanja o oralnom karcinomu. Rezultati: U istraživanju je sudjelovao sto osamdeset i pet sudionika. Pojedini sudionici nisu odgovorili na određena pitanja te je statistika za svako pojedino pitanje rađena samo za one ispitanike koji su odgovorili na pojedino pitanje. Sudjelovalo je 99 žena (57,9 %) i 72 muškarca (42,1 %), a 14 sudionika nije odgovorilo. Srednja dob sudionika bila je 67 godina. Većina sudionika (115; 80,4 %) čula je za oralni karcinom, ali nisu čuli za program probira raka usne šupljine niti su ikada sudjelovali u njemu (71; 51,1 % i 123; 86,6 %). Nije bilo značajne razlike između muškaraca i žena i između sudionika s različitim stupnjem obrazovanja. Većina ispitanika (111; 79,3 %) znala je da je pušenje čimbenik rizika za nastanak oralnog karcinoma. Većina sudionika procijenila je svoj rizik obolijevanja od oralnog karcinoma sličnim drugim osobama njihove dobi i spola. Zaključci: Naši su rezultati pokazali da je većina sudionika čula za oralni karcinom, ali nisu čuli za program probira za oralni karcinom niti su u njemu sudjelovali. Budući programi trebali bi biti usmjereni više na populaciju visokog rizika za oralni karcinom kako bi se postiglo rano otkrivanje i liječenje bolesti.
It is known that cortisol level increases in stress situations. The aim of the study was to measure the levels of salivary cortisol in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) and healthy controls. ...This was a case-control pilot study which included seven patients with reticular (non-symptomatic) OLP, eight patients with atrophic/erosive (symptomatic) OLP, and nine healthy controls. We hypothesized that patients with an atrophic/erosive type of OLP have higher levels of cortisol compared to patients with the reticular type of OLP and healthy controls. In each participant, unstimulated saliva was collected in order to determine cortisol levels by using commercially available ELISA kit. Our results have shown no differences between levels of salivary cortisol in OLP patients and healthy controls. We can conclude that further research with a larger number of OLP patients is needed to determine the correlation between OLP and stress.
Oral lichen planus (OLP) is an immunologically T cell-mediated disease caused by an unknown stimulus. Despite intensive investigation its pathogenesis still remains unknown. A few possible ...associations between OLP and certain diseases such as thyroid and malignant diseases as well as specific medication intake have been proposed in the literature with inconsistent findings. We aimed to investigate the profile of 163 Australian and 163 Croatian OLP patients with special regard to their systemic diseases, medication intake (with special regard to the drugs that metabolize through Cytochrome P450), OLP type and localization, as well as involvement of other body surfaces with lichen. We did not find any statistical significance with regard to the OLP presence and thyroid and malignant diseases. As expected, the reticular type of OLP was most prevalent, as well as involvement of the both buccal mucosas. There was no significant association with other oral diseases such as labial herpes. Simultaneous involvement of other body surfaces in patients with OLP does not seem to be prevalent. None of the medical conditions which were investigated had significant correlation with OLP neither in Australian nor in Croatian patients with OLP. Furthermore, the use of drugs which metabolize through Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) was not significantly correlated with OLP in either studied population. Therefore, we conclude that patients with OLP are not to be routinely screened for any systemic conditions.
We present case of oral and skin anaplastic T-cell lymphoma in a 68-year-old woman. The patient presented with extensive ulcerations and necrotic tissue on the left mandibular gingiva. ...Orthopantomogram finding showed extensive necrolytic lesions of the adjacent mandible. Biopsy finding of oral lesions and subsequently of the skin confirmed the diagnosis of anaplastic T-cell lymphoma. The bridge on the teeth 35-37 was taken out. After three cycles of chemotherapy, oral lesions subsided, unlike skin lesions. Dentists should be aware that differential diagnosis when dealing with oral ulcerations might be the result of certain malignant hematologic diseases.
Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a dermatological disorder accompanied by itching that greatly affects the quality of life and quality of sleep. Therefore, it is assumed that CSU patients ...consequently experience reduced melatonin secretion and lower values of serum or salivary melatonin. This pilot study included 20 patients with CSU (chronic urticaria of unknown etiology that lasts for more than 6 weeks) and 10 healthy controls. All subjects were examined by a dermatovenereologist-allergist, as well as an oral pathologist, to exclude oral pathological conditions. Salivary melatonin levels were determined by ELISA and all subjects completed a standardized Dermatology Life Quality Index questionnaire and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index on the same day they gave a saliva sample for analysis. According to our results, 86% of CSU patients had decreased values of salivary melatonin, and lower salivary melatonin values significantly correlated with a reduced quality of life in CSU patients. This study was the first to analyze melatonin in CSU patients, also suggesting a possible new therapeutic option for the treatment of CSU. Key words: Melatonin; Salivary melatonin; Chronic spontaneous urticaria; Sleep disorder; Therapeutic options Kronicna spontana urtikarija (KSU) je bolest koze pracena intenzivnim subjektivnim osjecajem svrbeza koji snazno utjece na kvalitetu zivota i kvalitetu spavanja bolesnika. Pretpostavka je da bolesnici s KSU-om posljedicno imaju smanjeno lucenje melatonina, kao i nize vrijednosti melatonina u serumu ili slini. Ovo probno istrazivanje ukljucilo je 20 bolesnika s KSU-om (urtikarija koja traje dulje od 6 tjedana nepoznate etiologije) i 10 zdravih ispitanika. Svakog bolesnika je pregledao dermatovenerolog-alergolog, kao i oralni patolog koji je iskljucio bolesti usne supljine koje bi mogle utjecati na razinu melatonina u bolesnika. Razina salivarnog melatonina odredena je testom ELISA, a svi ispitanici su ispunili standardizirani dermatoloski upitnik o kvaliteti zivota (Dermatology Life Quality Index, DLQI) i Pittsburski upitnik o kvaliteti sna (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI) istoga dana kad im je uzet uzorak sline za analizu. Prema rezultatima ovog istrazivanja 86% bolesnika s KSU-om imalo je snizene vrijednosti salivarnog melatonina koje znacajno koreliraju s losijom kvalitetom zivota u bolesnika s KSU-om. Ovo istrazivanje je prvo istrazivanje koje je analiziralo vrijednosti melatonina u bolesnika s KSU-om i koje predlaze novu terapijsku mogucnost u lijecenju KSU-e. Kljucne rijeci: Melatonin; Salivarni melatonin; Kronicna spontana urtikarija; Poremecaj spavanja; Terapijske mogucnosti
Dirofilariasis is an endemic infestation in tropical and subtropical countries caused by about 40 different species. It rarely occurs in the oral cavity and is mostly presented as mucosal and ...submucosal nodules. Differential diagnoses include lipoma, mucocele, and pleomorphic adenoma. We report a rare case of oral dirofilariasis mimicking mucocele in a 41-year-old male patient from Croatia without an epidemiological history of travelling outside the country. He came in because of non-painful lower lip swelling that had lasted for two months. The parasite was surgically removed from the lesion. This is the first reported case of oral dirofilariasis in Croatia. It is important to point out this rare diagnosis in order to make dentists aware of the possibility of the presence of such an infestation in common lesions of the oral mucosa.
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