Does recurrent aphthous stomatitis affect quality of life? A prospective study with 128 patients evaluating different treatment modalities.
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.
Hapa
Asli
A
Dermatology Clinic, Bolu Izzet Baysal State Hospital, Bolu, Turkey. draltaykan@yahoo.com
Aksoy
Berna
B
Polat
Mualla
M
Aslan
Umut
U
Atakan
Nilgün
N
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
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D009067:Mouthwashes; D003078:Colchicine