Impact of oral problems on daily activities of HIV-infected children

Authors:

ABSTRACT

Aim

Oral manifestations are common in HIV+ children, but the impact of these diseases on their daily life is
unknown. So the aim of this study was to assess the impact of oral problems on the daily activities of HIV+ children.

Methods

The Child-OIDP-B was used with 59 10-12 year-old HIV+ children, who were outpatients at two public hospitals
for HIV treatment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Caries, biofilm and gingival bleeding indexes were recorded. The Kruskall-Wallis
and Mann-Whitney tests as well as the Spearman's correlation coefficient were used for analysis. Statistical evaluation:
Replies were analysed using the Statgraphics Plus Version 5.0 statistics software system, in order to obtain comparative
diagrams and graphs using the ANOVA multifactorial system.

Results

The Child-OIDP-B scores ranged from 0 to 30,
(mean=6.09) and 71.2 of the children were affected by oral problems. Association was found between oral impact and
number of caries (p=0.009). Children receiving HAART therapy had a Child-OIDP-B score (4.87), much lower than those who
were not (8.87) (p=0.038). The most reported oral impact of the disease was eating (55.6), but oral wounds were the
most prevalent type of lesions (76.3). As regards the level of intensity of the impact, moderate severity was prevalent
in all 59 children and 66.1 reported that oral impacts affected 1-4 daily activities, 50.8 of all children were not
satisfied with their appearance and oral health; 23.7 perceived the impact of HIV-infection on general health.

Conclusion

Most children suffered the impact of oral problems on their daily activities, mainly functional
impacts.

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