title: Does recurrent aphthous stomatitis affect quality of life? A prospective study with 128 patients evaluating different treatment modalities.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Quality of life measures are increasingly being used in the evaluation of oral disease outcome. To date, there has been less focus on oral health-related quality of life (OHR-QoL) measures for oral diseases in dermatologic literature.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To test whether patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) report a lower OHR-QoL than the general population and to evaluate therapeutic regimens for RAS by using OHR-QoL measures.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 128 patients and 40 controls were enrolled. A questionnaire entitled the 14-item oral health impact profile (OHIP-14) was completed. Forty-three (33%) of the patients were followed-up and completed the OHIP-14 following treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median total score of patients on colchicine before treatment was 21. Following use of colchicine, the total score was 10. There was a significant difference concerning the impact of oral health following use of oral colchicine. However, no reduction of OHIP-14 scores was observed in the topical treatment group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When the influence of one of the most common oral diseases such as RAS on OHR-QoL was taken into consideration, OHR-QoL provides an additional dimension that may help to improve the impact of a disease on an individual's life. In relation to this, colchicine seems to be one of the most effective management strategies used in RAS.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Clinic, Bolu Izzet Baysal State Hospital, Bolu, Turkey. draltaykan@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Asli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hapa
authors.forename: Berna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aksoy
authors.forename: Mualla
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Polat
authors.forename: Umut
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Aslan
authors.forename: Nilgün
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Atakan
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D003078:Colchicine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009067:Mouthwashes / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D013281:Stomatitis, Aphthous / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D009067:Mouthwashes; D003078:Colchicine