title: Candida albicans isolation from buccal mucosa of patients with HIV wearing removable dental prostheses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of complete or partial removable dental prostheses (RDPs) on the frequency of Candida albicans isolated from the mouth and the presence of oral candidiasis in human immunodeficiency virus-positive (HIV+) patients correlated with CD4 levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred ninety-three HIV+ patients were evaluated; 68 had RDPs and 125 did not. CD4 cell count was obtained after blood sampling and performed on the day of clinical examination. The material was collected from the buccal mucosa for isolation of yeasts with a sterile swab and seeded onto Sabouraud dextrose agar with chloramphenicol. C albicans strains were identified by testing germ tubes and chlamydospore formation and biochemical (zymogram, auxanogram) characteristics. The results were subjected to the Fischer exact test and chi-square tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  C albicans were isolated from 45 (66.17%) patients who had RDPs and 48 (38.4%) who did not (P = .0003). The presence of oral candidiasis was observed in 14 patients (7.25%), and 10 of the 14 (71.43%) were RDP users. The absence of candidiasis occurred in 121 (67.59%) nonusers and 58 (32.40%) users of RDPs (P = .0065). The mean CD4 cell count was lower in patients with oral candidiasis regardless of the use of RDPs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of RDPs was an important factor in the isolation of C albicans among HIV+ patients, and CD4 level seems to play a role in the presence of oral candidiasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andrea Lusvarghi
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Witzel
authors.forename: Maria de Fatima Costa
authors.initials: Mde F
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.forename: Marina Lara
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: de Carli
authors.forename: Gustavo Davi
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Rabelo
authors.forename: Thais Borguezan
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.forename: Fernando Ricardo Xavier
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: da Silveira
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002180:Candidiasis, Oral / Q000175:diagnosis; D003824:Denture, Complete / Q000382:microbiology*; D003832:Denture, Partial, Removable / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology*