Oral lichen planus: A retrospective study of 633 patients from Bucharest, Romania

ABSTRACT

Objective: In this retrospective study, patients’ medical records were reviewed to investigate the profiles of 633 OLP cases in a group of Romania. Material and Methods: In this retrospective study, the following clinical data were obtained from the medical charts of patients gender, age, clinical presentation of OLP, site affected, presence of symptoms, extraoral manifestations of lichen planus, presence of systemic diseases, and history of medications. Results: Most (78.67%) OLP patients were female and the mean age at presentation was 52 years. The white type of the disease (reticular/papular/plaque lesions) was the main form encountered in this sample (48.97%). Among patients with available hepatitis C virus test results, 9.6% were serum-positive. OLP was associated with gallbladder disease (i.e. cholecystitis, cholelithiasis) in 19% of patients. Six patients (0.95%) developed squamous cell carcinoma at a site with confirmed OLP lesions. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, no similar study has been conducted in a Romanian population. The present investigation revealed the predominance of OLP among middle-aged white women and the prevalence of bilateral involvement of the buccal mucosa with reticular white lesions. Anti-HCV circulating antibodies were more common in patients with OLP than in the general population and, notably, OLP was associated with gallbladder disease (cholecystitis, cholelithiasis) in 19% of patients (AU)