Abstract

Introduction: Due to its spread and implications, oral lichen planus has attracted particular attention from the medical world. Despite efforts, the etiology of oral lichen planus is currently incompletely understood. Establishing significant associations between oral lichen planus and hepatitis viruses helps to identify the population that requires screening for the markers of these viruses and implicitly, to diagnose these hepatitis cases.

Aims: To determine the frequency of association of oral lichen planus with HCV infection and to establish a correlation between the severity of hepatic involvement and that of lichen planus lesions.

Material and methods: Included 80 patients with oral lichen planus. All patients included in the study underwent biochemical liver function tests. Statistical analysis of clinical and para-clinical parameters was performed.

Results: The group of HCV-positive patients with oral lichen planus represented 42.5% of the study group. It was found that oral lichen planus with reticular lesions was the predominant clinical form. Regarding the relationship between the severity of oral lichen planus lesions and that of hepatic involvement, no correlation could be established between the degree of alteration of liver function tests and the severity of oral lesions. Thus, patients with high transaminase values had non-extensive lesions and mild, non-painful reticular forms, while other patients with normal or slightly changed liver function test values had extensive, particularly painful erosive lesions, with an altered general status.

Conclusions: There is no significant correlation between the degree of alteration of liver function tests and the severity of oral lesions. Oral erosive lesions had a significantly higher incidence in patients with at least one changed liver function test.

Keywords: Lichen planus lesion; Hepatitis C virus; Hepatic involvement; Correlation