The oral mucosa in leprosy: a clinical and histopathological study.
BACKGROUND
Multibacillary leprosy may involve the oral mucosa, with or without apparent lesions. There are few studies that deal with this issue in the era of multidrug therapy.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the frequency of oral mucosa involvement in multibacillary leprosy patients.


METHODS
A transversal study with twenty non-treated multibacillary leprosy patients. The patients were treated in Dracena, São Paulo, between 2000 and 2002. Clinical examination of the oral mucosa was carried out. All patients were submitted to jugal mucosa, soft palate and tongue biopsies, in altered or in pre-established sites. The cross-sections were stained by techniques of hematoxilin-eosin and Ziehl-Neelsen. Granuloma and alcohol-acid-resistant bacilli findings determined the specific histopathological involvement.


RESULTS
The study involved 19 patients with an average of 2.5 years of disease progression. Specific histopathological involvement occurred in the tongue and soft palate of one lepromatous patient with an apparently normal oral mucosa.


CONCLUSIONS
(1) Clinical alterations in the oral mucosa does not imply disease involvement, it is necessary to have histopathological confirmation. (2) Apparent specific clinical alterations are rare. (3) The clinically normal oral mucosa can show specific histopathological involvement.
de Abreu
Marilda Aparecida Milanez Morgado
MA
Department of Pathology, EPM, UNIFESP, Federal University of São Paulo, Paulista School of Medicine, Brazil. lfmabreu@uol.com.br
Michalany
Nilceo Schwery
NS
Weckx
Luc Louis Maurice
LL
Neto Pimentel
Dalva Regina
DR
Hirata
Cleonice Hitomi Watashi
CH
de Avelar Alchorne
Maurício Mota
MM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010159:Palate / Q000473:pathology*; D014059:Tongue / Q000473:pathology*