Drug treatment for oral submucous fibrosis.
METHODS
Searches were made for relevant data using Medline and the International Poster Journal of Dentistry and Oral Medicine online database (see ipj.quintessenz.de).


METHODS
Meta-analyses, randomised controlled trials (RCT), clinical trials and other experimental designs were considered.


METHODS
Because of heterogeneity of study designs and drugs used, a qualitative synthesis was conducted.


RESULTS
Seventeen publications were identified of which 15 were included. Of these, six were RCT, four were clinical trials/ controlled clinical trials, and five were other types experimental studies. The studies in total involved 1224 patients. The rate of those lost to followup reached 30% in some studies. The drugs used to treat oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) were categorised into steroids, enzymes, cardiovascular drugs, antioxidants, vitamins and microelements.


CONCLUSIONS
There are few high-quality studies available and the present drug treatments are in general empirical and treat only symptoms. There is a need for high-quality RCT in this area, especially studies involving combined and sequential therapy.
Angadi
Punnya V
PV
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Belgaum, Karnataka, India.