Abstract
Objective: To investigate whether the use of HAART for patients with HIV/AIDS was associated with increased prevalence of oral warts in a tertiary care hospital in Brazil.
Method: Approximately 1745 HIV patients (72.3% males) aged 2-64 years (mean 33 years) treated at the Otorhinolaryngology department of a tertiary care hospital for a period of 12 years from 1993 to 2005. Patients were evaluated for the presence of oral lesions, recorded data about their medications, serum count of CD4+, and after 1996, plasma viral load. The diagnosis of oral warts was made through biopsy under local anesthesia, using 2% xylocaine. Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect and type HPV infection. Data were analyzed by dividing patients into 3 groups according to treatment: no treatment, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and HAART. The prevalence of oral warts was compared among groups using the chi-square and Fisher exact tests.
Results: Approximately 77 patients (4.4%) had oral warts. About 2.8% of the 317 untreated patients, 4.0% of the 927 under ART, and 6.2% of 501 users of HAART had oral warts. The HPV infection rate of HPV6/11 was 45.2%.
Conclusion: There is an increased frequency of oral warts due to HPV, even under improved immune status after HAART, with a prevalence of a low risk HPV6/11 infection.
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