title: Hepatitis C virus infections in oral lichen planus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: A role for hepatitis C virus in oral lichen planus has been postulated. This systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing epidemiological studies was conducted to determine if there is a correlation between oral lichen planus and hepatitis C virus infection.
  
  
  
  We examined the association between hepatitis C virus and oral lichen planus by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies that examined the prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies in the serum of cases and controls. We searched PubMed, Embase and The Cochrane Library databases from 2005 to January 2015. Associations were measured using random-effect odds ratios (ORs) combined with 95% confidence intervals.
  
  
  
  Nineteen eligible studies, encompassing 1807 cases of OLP and 2519 controls, were retrieved and included in this review. The summary estimate OR for all studies was 6.07 (95% CI: 2.73-13.48), showing a statistically significant difference in the proportion of HCV seropositivity among oral lichen planus patients, compared with controls and substantial heterogeneity between studies (I(2) = 65%) as a result of a variety of geographical distributions.
  
  
  
  The association of hepatitis C virus infection with oral lichen planus emphasizes the importance of hepatitis C virus screening in oral lichen planus patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Al-Farabi Colleges, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Alaizari
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Al-Farabi Colleges, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Al-Maweri
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Al-Farabi Colleges, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Al-Shamiri
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Al-Farabi Colleges, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tarakji
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Al-Farabi Colleges, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shugaa-Addin
mesh_terms: D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000821:virology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies
keywords: Hepatitis C; lichen planus; meta-analysis; oral; systematic review