Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus in Oral Lichen Planus and the Levels of Aminotransferase Hepatic Enzymes in Patients with Oral Lichen Planus

ABSTRACT

Background: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a relatively common skin and oral disease that manifests as a mucous reaction to a variety of etiologic factors, including autoimmune disease, drug reaction, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, hepatitis C virus (HCV), urolithiasis, psychogenic factors, and bacterial infection. It is one of the most frequent oral lesion found in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between HCV infection and OLP as there is a high prevalence of HCV infection in India, and to assess the levels of aminotransferase enzymes (SGPT/SGOT) in patients with OLP. Methods: The study consisted of 25 histopathologically confirmed patients of OLP and 25 subjects with age and sex matched healthy volunteers visiting the outpatient department of a dental hospital over a period of 1 year. All subjects in both groups were subjected to serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and HCV antibodies detection. Results: The average HCV antibody between study and control group was statistically nonsignificant with p=0.965. The percentage of patients with elevated SGOT and SGPT values was higher among the OLP patients in the study group ((32.0%) i.e. >45 IU/L) in comparison to subjects in the control group (0%). Hence, SGOT and SGPT value was statistically significant (p value= 0.002). Conclusion: OLP in certain populations can be used as a marker for HCV infection in addition to transaminase hepatic enzymes level.