The risk of serious odontogenic infections in HIV-positive patients: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to perform a preliminary test of the hypothesis that patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have an increased risk for serious odontogenic infections in comparison with HIV-negative patients.


METHODS
To address the research purpose, we used a case-control study design. A case was a serious odontogenic infection requiring inpatient management. A control was a nonserious odontogenic infection that could be managed on an outpatient basis. The ratio of controls to cases was 2:1. HIV status was determined by record review.


RESULTS
The sample was composed of 300 patients. Sixteen patients (5%) were HIV-positive. Overall, 37.5% of the HIV-positive patients had serious infections; this compared with 33% of the HIV-negative patients (odds ratio = 1.21; 95% confidence interval = 0.43-3.44; P = .79).


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this pilot study suggest that HIV-positive patients do not have an increased risk for developing serious odontogenic infections.
Miller
E J
EJ
Department of Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery, Boston, MA 02114, USA. tdodson@partners.org
Dodson
T B
TB
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D005491:Focal Infection, Dental / Q000209:etiology*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000009:adverse effects