Oral candidiasis.
Candida spp. can frequently cause oral infections in the elderly. A number of factors, including yeast virulence factors and compromised host defenses, contribute to outcomes of clinical disease. Precise mechanisms that determine the varied clinical appearances of oral candidiasis have not been delineated fully. Oral candidiasis should be suspected at the clinical level when oral mucosal lesions consistent with the various presentations of candidiasis are observed in patients at risk. Culture remains the gold standard for assessment, although results may be equivocal. Topical or systemic antifungal therapy may result in resolution of symptoms and lesions, but lesions may recur if underlying risk factors remain.
Peterson
D E
DE
School of Dental Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington.
D000368:Aged; D002180:Candidiasis, Oral / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans