A survey on brazilian dentists' awareness, perception, and knowledge of bisphosphonates

Aim: The purpose of the study was to analyze the knowledge of dentists in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, about bisphosphonates and their clinical implications. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted with a convenience sample of dentists in Belo Horizonte, in a period of 8 weeks. The questionnaire was self-applied and was structured with 10 items about the dentists' demographic characteristics, professional profile, and knowledge about bisphosphonates. Associations in the data were analyzed by with the Fischer's exact test with a significance level of 5%. Results: Of the 214 participating dentists, 163 (76.17%) were women, and 51 (23.83%) were men, with age ranged for 21 to 73 years (mean of 30 years) and mean of 6 years of professional activity. Nearly half (106/49.53%) reported having knowledge about bisphosphonates, and undergraduate courses were the primary source of such information (73/34.11%). Osteoporosis was the most identified indication for use (75/35.04%), although no participants correctly identified all indications. Regarding the drugs' side effects, only three dentists (1.40%) could correctly identify all responses, with bone necrosis being recognized by the majority (88/41.12%). Sodium alendronate (54/25.23%) and sodium ibandronate (15/7.01%) were the most identified examples of bisphosphonates. Last, only nine dentists (4.20%) could identify all examples of the drugs, and their capacity was associated with self-reported knowledge (p<0.05). Conclusions: More information about bisphosphonates should be disseminated in Belo Horizonte, ideally via better approaches in local undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Until then, knowledge of the basic aspects of bisphosphonates will remain limited

Lip carcinoma mimicking keratoacanthoma: case reports / Carcinoma de lábio mimetizando queratoacantoma: relato de casos

ABSTRACT Oral amyloidosis is a disease characterized by extracellular and irreversible deposition of amorphous and fibrillar proteins in the oral cavity, being strongly associated with Multiple Myeloma. The objective of this study is to report a case of a 62-year-old woman diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma who, approximately 2 years after starting treatment for the underlying disease, presented a lesion on the lateral border of the tongue with exophytic growth, pinkish color, vascularized, painless, measuring 3cm in its largest diameter. After histopathological analysis through incisional biopsy, a final diagnosis of amyloidosis was obtained. As a local treatment, we opted for complete excision of the lesion. The patient evolved to death due to Multiple Myeloma influenced by the diagnosis of systemic amyloidosis. Oral amyloidosis is usually associated with the systemic presentation of the disease, making it necessary to conduct a thorough investigation of other organs. Its diagnosis is important since the prognosis is directly related and can negatively influence survival rates and treatment of the underlying disease.

RESUMO A amiloidose oral é uma doença caracterizada pela deposição extracelular e irreversível de proteínas amorfas e fibrilares na cavidade bucal, sendo fortemente associada com Mieloma Múltiplo. O objetivo deste trabalho é relatar o caso de uma mulher com 62 anos de idade diagnosticada com Mieloma Múltiplo que, aproximadamente 2 anos após o início do tratamento para a doença de base, apresentou lesão em borda lateral de língua com crescimento exofítico, de coloração rósea, vascularizada, indolor, medindo 3 cm em seu maior diâmetro. Após análise histopatológica através de biópsia incisional, obteve-se diagnóstico final de amiloidose. Como tratamento local, optou-se pela exérese completa da lesão. A paciente evoluiu para óbito por consequência do Mieloma Múltiplo com complicações associadas à amiloidose sistêmica. A amiloidose oral geralmente está associada com a apresentação sistêmica da doença, tornando necessária uma investigação aprofundada nos demais órgãos. Seu diagnóstico é importante uma vez que pode influenciar diretamente no prognóstico e, consequentemente, negativamente nas taxas de sobrevida e no tratamento da doença de base.

The use of social networks in scientific research with questionnaires

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the response rate of the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire sent and received by mail and over a social network to caregivers of individuals with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) in Brazil. Methods: All volunteers were first-degree relatives of patients with EB that directly spent time helping them with their basic activities of daily living. A maximum of two caregivers per patient could answer the questionnaire. Volunteers were divided into two groups: for group 1, questionnaires were sent to 53 members of a support association for the disease by mail, and for group 2, 798 members of the Facebook™ page of friends and relatives of patients with EB were invited to participate using an access link to Google Drive™ to gain access to the questionnaire. The data from both groups were analyzed 150 days after the start the study. Descriptive analysis was performed by EpiInfo8 and the return of questionnaires was evaluated according to age, sex, and time of return using the Chi-squared and Fisher's exact test. Results: After 150 days, 30 questionnaires were returned, 17 (56.7%) of which from group 1 and 13 (43.3%) from group 2. Approximately 12 questionnaires were returned by mail and 11 over the social network. Conclusions: The data collection of the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire from caregivers of individuals with EB over a social network seems to be efficient mainly when it is necessary to collect results within a short timeframe, highlighting the importance of social networks as a means for conducting this type of research. However, in our study, the most efficient method was distributing the questionnaires by mail

Hepatite C: uma revisão para dentistas / Hepatitis C: a review for dentists

Neste trabalho, os autores fazem uma revisão de literatura sobre a hepatite C ressaltando aspectos importantes da doença, tais como a epidemiologia, a virologia, a transmissão, o diagnóstico, a história natural, as manifestações extra-hepáticas, o tratamento e as manifestações bucais e sistêmicas relevantes para os cirurgiões-dentistas.

Líquen plano bucal e hepatite C / Oral lichen planus and hepatitis C

O Líquen Plano bucal tem sido relacionado com o vírus da Hepatite C, com achados ainda inconclusivos, não estando, ainda estabelecida, se essa associação é real ou ocasional. Esse trabalho tem por objetivo revisar a literatura atual sobre a prevalência da relação entre o Líquen Plano bucal e a Hepatite C, com levantamento de dados e discussão crítica dos achados. Embora estudos surgiram uma asociação loco regional, a relação entre o Líquen Plano bucal e hepatite C não está, ainda totalmente estabelecida, sendo necessárias maiores investigações.

Estudo epidemiológico de lesöes bucais de líquen plano do laboratório de patologia bucal da Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / Epidemiologic study of oral lichen planus from Oral Pathology Laboratory, School of Dentistry of Minas Gerais Federal University

O líquen plano (LP) é uma doença inflamatória mucocutânea crônica de aparecimento comum na populaçäo e provavelmente mediado por linfócitos T. Pode apresentar-se sob várias formas clínicas, o que dificulta o seu reconhecimento. Existem controvérsias na literatura sobre a possível associaçäo do LP com várias alteraçöes sistêmicas, e com o carcinoma epidermóide de boca. Objetivou-se, com esse trabalho, o levantamento retrospectivo dos dados epidemiológicos referentes aos casos de líquen plano bucal da Faculdade de Odontologia da UFMG, e a avaliaçäo da correlaçäo entre os diagnósticos clínicos e histopatológicos. O trabalho discute a necessidade de melhor conhecimento, pelo cirurgiäo-dentista, sobre as várias formas de apresentaçäo clínica desta alteraçäo, assim como a necessidade de estabelecimento do diagnóstico diferencial com outras lesöes que podem ser confundidas clinicamente com o LP