PREVALENCE AND RISK-FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH LEUKOPLAKIA, HAIRY LEUKOPLAKIA, ERYTHEMATOUS CANDIDIASIS, AND GINGIVAL HYPERPLASIA IN RENAL-TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS

The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of intraoral l esions in renal transplant recipients and to identify possible risk fa ctors. The oral mucosa of 159 renal transplant recipients and 160 cont rol patients was examined. The most common lesion in renal transplant recipients was cyclosporin-induced gingival hyperplasia (prevalence 22 %) and patients with gingival hyperplasia were found to be taking sign ificantly more cyclosporin-A than those without (p < 0.001). The preva lence of hairy leukoplakia and leukoplakia in renal transplant recipie nts was 11.3% and 10.7%, respectively, compared with 0% and 5.6% in th e controls. Oral candidiasis was observed in 9.4% of renal transplant recipients compared with 2.5% of the controls; 3.8% of renal transplan t recipients exhibited erythematous candidiasis, but this was not seen in the controls. Renal transplant recipients had a significantly incr eased risk of developing gingival hyperplasia (p < 0.0001), oral candi diasis (p < 0.005), and two other conditions that have a well-establis hed association with the immune suppression accompanying HIV infection , hairy leukoplakia (p < 0.0001) and erythematous candidiasis (p < 0.0 1).