Differential Diagnosis of Oral Metastases / Diagnóstico Diferencial de las Metástasis Orales

Metastatic lesions in the mouth can resemble common inflammatory lesions. Therefore, we set out to investigate oral metastases whose clinical and imaging characteristics mimicked those of harmless lesions, confusing and delaying the diagnosis. For this, a systematic review was carried out from case reports, case series, and cross-sectional studies in the PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Embase-via Elsevier, Virtual Health Library, Web of Science, and gray literature, using PICO strategy without period restriction. We assessed the quality of studies using the Joanna Briggs Institute assessment tool. A narrative synthesis of the data was carried out. Association analyses using chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were performed, with statistical significance at p<0.05. Most of the lesions came from the lung, breast, kidneys, liver, and thyroid. They affected mainly the mandibles of men, between the fifth and seventh decades of life, causing osteolysis. In soft tissue, there were firm swellings, associated with bleeding. Limitations regarding the heterogeneity of the included studies and the absence of clinic pathological descriptions of the tumors substantially reduced the chance of statistical analysis of the data. Knowing the different possibilities of clinical presentation of oral and maxillofacial metastases is important for the diagnost ic suspicion to occur and diagnostic errors to be avoided. Thus, treatment is instituted and survival can be extended. Protocol registration: PROSPERO CRD42020200696.

Las lesiones metastásicas en la cavidad oral pueden parecer similares a lesiones inflamatorias comunes. Por ello, nos propusimos investigar metástasis orales cuyas características clínicas e imagenológicas simularan las de lesiones inofensivas, confundiendo y retrasando el diagnóstico. Para ello, se realizó una revisión sistemática a partir de reportes de casos, series de casos y estudios transversales en PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Embase-vía Elsevier, Virtual Health Library, Web of Science y literatura gris, utilizando la estrategia PICO sin restricción de periodo. La calidad de los estudios se evaluó mediante la herramienta de evaluación del Instituto Joanna Briggs. Se realizó una síntesis narrativa de los datos. Se realizaron análisis de asociación mediante chi-cuadrado y prueba exacta de Fisher, con significancia estadística en p<0,05. La mayoría de las lesiones procedían de pulmón, mama, riñones, hígado y tiroides. Afectan principalmente a las mandíbulas de los hombres, entre la quinta y la séptima década de la vida, provocando osteólisis. En los tejidos blandos, había hinchazones firmes, asociadas con sangrado. Las limitaciones con respecto a la heterogeneidad de los estudios incluidos y la ausencia de descripciones clinicopatológicas de los tumores redujeron sustancialmente la posibilidad de realizar un análisis estadístico de los datos. Conocer las diferentes posibilidades de presentación clínica de las metástasis orales y maxilofaciales es importante para que se produzca la sospecha diagnóstica y se eviten errores diagnósticos. Por lo tanto, se instituye el tratamiento y se puede prolongar la supervivencia. Registro de protocolo: PROSPERO CRD42020200696.

Oral manifestations of systemic fungal infections: 25-year experience in an endemic region

Some mycoses are endemic. They develop through hematogenous spread, causing a generalized infection, usually with secondary mucosal involvement.The aim of this observational and retrospective study was to report the prevalence and characteristics of oral lesions in patients diagnosed with systemic fungal infections (SFI) over a 25-year period in southern Brazil. Demographic (age, sex, ethnicity, occupation) and clinical (anatomical location, symptoms,histopathological diagnosis and management) data from the medical records of patients with SFI were collected from 1995 to 2019. 34 cases of SFI were found, of which 31 (91.18%) were diagnosed as paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) and 3 (8.82%) as histoplasmosis. Men were much more affected (n = 31; 91.18%), with an average age of 46.9 years. Most patients (n = 18; 58.06%) were Caucasian; 48% (n = 15) were farm/rural workers and the most affected region was the jugal mucosa (n = 13; 25.49%) followed by the alveolar ridge (n = 12; 23.52%). All patients with histoplasmosis were immunocompetent men (mean age: 52.67 years), and the palate was the most affected. All patients underwent incisional biopsy and were referred to an infectologist. The dentist has an essential role in the recognition of SFI, whose oral manifestations may be the first sign. SFI should be included in differential diagnosis in patients from endemic areas. In addition, the inevitable human mobility and globalization make knowledge of these mycosesnecessary worldwide, especially since advanced cases in immunocompromised patients can be fatal.